A Wild Pony in Equestria
by Tangent
Summary: Ranma Saotome wakes up deep in the Everfree Forest one day. The next day, he wakes up as a female pony. Later that same day, she encounters a cockitrace. Clearly, Ranma was not ready for Equestria. But this IS Ranma, who, when faced with failure and impossible odds, steps back, adapts, and overcomes, so the real question is: Is Equestria ready for Ranma?
1. Prelude

_**A Wild Pony in Equestria**_

A Ranma ½ - My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic crossover fanfict by Tangent

**Pre-reading and editing assistance by:**

Lord Talon;

Nevrmore;

And some guy named Steve

**DISCLAIMER:** 'Ranma ½' and all characters therein belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogagukan, Kitty and Viz Video. 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic' and all characters therein belong to Hasbro. This fanfict has been produced for my own enjoyment and to pass on without profit. Other characters that come into play in this fanfict may or may not be pulled from other sources (including other fanficts, RPGs, manga, anime, literature, or possibly even *GASP* American comic books!).

**A WORD FROM TANGENT:** Believe it or not, I just recently entered bronydom by way of the authorized fan-made episode 'Double Rainboom,' And then literally backtracked and watched as many episodes, fan videos, fan reactions, read fan fictions, perused pony art (although I knew about pony creators for over a year now), and so on.

Surprisingly enough, I haven't seen much of anything involving any sort of Ranma ½ crossovers with MLP:FiM other than a 'My Little Dashie' variant. Frankly, I think this total lack of the wild horse in Equestria needs corrected…

**FYI**: Just to reassure my readers, 'A Wild Horse in Equestria,' is not going to be what Bronies refer to as a clop-fic. If anything, Ranma is finally going to get a chance to have the sort of relationships he actually needs: _friends_ - no strings or obligations attached. So rest assured that the types of shenanigans that began infecting Magical Guardian Ranma: Beta Edition around chapter five and pretty much comprise almost all of Quests of Chaos should not be showing up in this fic…

**[EDIT]:** Changed probable fic title from "A Wild Horse in Equestria" to "A Wild Pony in Equestria" due to Dumbledork having used the other title already. Granted, I suppose I could have left it go and kept using Wild Horse, but I _would_ actually like to see more of Dumbledork's story myself, so I conceded the issue. Especially since this is still in the 'idea' phase.

O O O

**PRELUDE: **_**A Wild Pony Arrives in the Everfree Forest…**_

Ranma wasn't sure exactly where he was. He had awoken some time ago in an unfamiliar forest, with no supplies, and no clear recollection of the previous days events or how he got here. About the only thing going in his favor was the fact that he was wearing his usual Chinese outfit, so he was neither naked nor wandering around in his underwear.

Even his rather extensive knowledge of flora and fauna, gained over ten years of roughing it during the training trip his father, Genma, had taken him on was failing him. Despite being able to recognize several varieties of plants and animals as being either safe or unsafe due to previous experience with them, there were also quite a few that he had never encountered before.

Granted, the encounter with the pack of wolves made of sticks had actually been kind of fun. They may have acted a lot like real wolves, but he just couldn't bring himself to feel threatened by animate bundles of sticks. Especially since they were so easily knocked to pieces by what Ranma considered to be moderate blows from his hands or feet. Well… he did have to admit that their ability to reassemble themselves was kinda worrisome, and he was sorta nervous for a moment there when they finally decided to form up into a giant super stick wolf…

Until both Ranma and the giant wooden wolf realized the tactical blunder it had made by becoming so big while surrounded by trees. It might have taken longer to destroy than before, but with its mobility hampered, Ranma had no difficulties dodging it while taking it apart in detail. After which, the separated wood made a half hearted attempt to assemble again, only to settle to the forest floor in apparent exhaustion.

Good times…

Distinctly less fun had been running from the lion-thing with the bat wings and scorpion tail that he had encountered later, which his cat-fist training rendered him unable to fight directly. Ranma had finally gotten away from it by sheer chance when he discovered that it wouldn't follow him into a field of blue plants. While this led him to be somewhat suspicious of whatever the plant was, pure terror kept him dead center in the field until the cat-thing not only left, but he couldn't sense it stalking him anymore. And even then he remained extremely cautious as he left the field.

As tempting as it was to just leave it go in case it was something as innocuous as an unpalatable scent keeping bat-kitty away, Ranma knew better than to leave himself exposed to strange plant oils any longer than absolutely necessary. So, following his ears, he eventually found a stream large enough to bathe in, and thoroughly washed both himself and his clothing as best as he could, becoming a girl once again in the process.

Better that than have to deal with the results of being exposed to a potentially poisonous plant.

Given that the sun was beginning to set by the time Ranma had her bath, she hung her clothes where she figured they would best catch the morning sun and finish drying, then proceeded to set up camp by collecting rocks, twigs, sticks, and leaves that she knew were safe. First setting up the stone circle for a campfire, then assembling a makeshift lean-to from the greener plant debris and stockpiling the drier tinder for a decent fire, which she didn't bother to start until she actually had a couple of fish and crayfish from the stream to cook.

Ranma's opinions on Chinese Amazons were many and varied, ranging from being perplexing, annoying, stubborn, annoying, good cooks, and annoying, but he certainly never faulted the usefulness of their fighting techniques.

The chestnut-fist, for example, was not only a great rapid repetitive striking technique, it was also a highly useful for non-combative purposes requiring speed and accuracy, such as catching fish barehanded or starting a fire one handed with a fist full of dry twigs and leaves.

Somewhat satiated for the moment, the nude redhead looked up at the darkening sky to try to get her bearings from the emerging stars.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me…"

With a sense of dread, Ranma nimbly hopped up the branches until her head cleared to forest canopy and she got a better look at the moon and stars.

While the stars themselves were damning enough, given that the few constellations that she recognized were in completely different positions in relation to each other than should even be possible no matter where you viewed them from, it was the moon itself that confirmed just how lost Ranma was.

For on the face of the moon was a distinct pattern of craters and shadows that created a silhouette of a unicorn's head…

Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, official fiancé in at least three mutually exclusive arranged marriage contracts, and supposed runaway husband according to Chinese Amazon law, was now, to the best of his knowledge, no longer on planet Earth.

Quite frankly, while waking up the next morning as a pony was definitely yet another problem she neither needed nor wanted, it was nowhere near as surprising as it should have been…

"Aw, man! What now?" Then Ranma blinked in surprise. "Huh? Cool! I can still talk!"

While Ranma was more aggravated than alarmed to discover she had become some sort of midget horse some time during the night (she was judging her scale as compared to the clothes she had left hanging - if she was a horse, she was a small one), it was just one more strange thing that had happened to him over the past year or so. And hardly the worst.

In fact, on the off chance that becoming a mini-horse had simply replaced the girl-type form, Ranma was willing to call this change a net gain. She didn't care anywhere near as much about being a female horse as she did about becoming a human girl. For one thing, horses of either gender were neither weak nor defenseless. For another, female horses were more physically discrete than human girls, not having obvious breasts and all. That, and should some asshole actually manage to catch her off guard as a mini-horse, nobody bothered to geld mares when trying to break them.

Yeah - if Ranma had to be a horse of any size, for the time being she was perfectly fine with being a mare.

So Ranma was actually relatively calm as she examined her new body.

Hooves instead of hands or feet, legs somewhat thick in proportion to the body size (which was a good thing - sturdy legs were less likely to break, which was a bad thing for a horse), chestnut fur with a scarlet mane and tail, weird shield and sword pattern in the fur on her flanks…

Yeah, that was a pattern in her fur, rather than a brand, sticker, or paint.

Shield with a sword on it, huh…

Maybe she had become some sort of guardian beast? That'd be kinda cool actually. Fighting monsters to defend the world, no fiancées, earning a better afterlife, no fiancées, and best of all - no fiancées!

Well, first thing was first - make sure that the new body worked!

Um… Actually, first thing was to make sure the campfire was all the way out - _then_ go have fun with new training…

Okay, walk, canter, trot, gallop, leap, flip, rebound off tree, land on a branch, back-flip onto another branch on hind legs, assume a kata stance…

The new body was proving to be quite a bit more flexible than Ranma expected it to be so she could _definitely_ work with this!

Ranma worked through the more basic kata sets she knew until she became more sure of her balance on two legs. Then she moved onto the intermediate sets and finally the advanced forms, and was happy to note that she could actually do all of the ones she tried with only minimal alterations due to her form. As far as horses went, her joints were freakishly flexible.

Ranma sat by the stream once she was done testing what her new body could do, taking a long drink to cool off before sitting down and idly skipping stones across the water as she pondered what to do next. While her new body had proven to be flexible enough to be able to stand upright and even assume most of the combat stances she knew, it did have its own limitations. Hooves lacked fingers, after all, and without those…

…

How the hell was she picking up stones and skipping them across the water without fingers?

Picking up another stone, Ranma attempted to analyze just how she was able to do so, but for the life of her it just seemed to be a matter of intent rather than a case of hidden fingers. Press or touch with the underside of the hoof with intent to pick up or hold, and she did. Worked with the rear hooves as well, if not quite to the same extent.

Hmm…

Ranma looked at her hooves, then at a tree, then at her hooves again before getting up and trotting over to the tree in question…

And then continued trotting right up the trunk!

For about three whole steps before falling to the ground, having lost her 'grip.'

"Owww…"

Heh… She'd have to work on that. At least she knew that she had actually been sticking to the tree, as she had been careful enough to not be going fast enough to have done it by inertia. That was an old trick anyway. Being able to actually stay put on a vertical surface without something for her toes to grip (or, in this case, without even actual toes to grip with) was going to take some practice.

"Ewww… what's that smell?" Ranma shook her head to clear the odd acrid scent of rotting wood and leaves, mixed with the cloying scent of aged tree sap and the almost overpowering aroma of pine tar. Granted, they _were_ forest smells, but oversaturated well past the point of being pleasantly outdoorsy and well into 'who shoved a compost heap up my nose?' It was an oddly familiar scent too.

One she had encountered just the day before.

The stick dogs were back.

Spinning around, Ranma was startled to discover that she did _not_ see them right away.

"Oh, right. Better sense of smell in this form. Gotta remember that."

With a small (for her, anyway) bound into the overhead branches, Ranma made her way, tree by tree, back up stream to the small camp she had wandered away from.

Where she found a somewhat larger pack of wooden canines tearing up her lean-to (no real loss there), the circle of rocks surrounding the campfire ashes (Ranma experienced a brief mental image of the stick wolves setting themselves, and then the forest, on fire, and found herself relieved to have remembered to make sure the fire was all the way out before she wandered off to practice), and her clothes. Which were now shredded and scattered into several tiny pieces.

Irritating, but it wasn't like she had any way to heat water to change back anyway, and she currently didn't actually need clothes.

Ranma studied the pack from the safety of the branches, contemplating on whether or not it was worth attacking the wooden wolves for destroying her stuff. It was obvious that they had lost her scent, which wasn't particularly surprising considering that she had bathed here last night and had taken to the trees here early on in her self-discovery of her new body. There were only three more of them than in the previous encounter, but given that Ranma wasn't that familiar with the limits of her new body just yet…

Best to just cut her losses and leave before the noise they were making attracted the cat-bat thingy again.

O O O

Sometime later, Ranma dropped to the ground again to… take care of a call of nature. The trees were thinning out a bit, and the underbrush was thicker and more robust, providing plenty of opportunities for privacy, and she had stayed near enough to the stream, so she was able be able to wash up afterwards as well, which was always a plus.

Deciding to stay on the ground afterwards as she continued heading west, Ranma tried to remember what kind of plants horses were supposed to eat. Was it only grasses? Or could she eat other stuff as well?

She'd have to chance something soon, regardless, as having a new body certainly hadn't stopped her from needing to eat.

Hearing rustling in some nearby underbrush, Ranma turned towards the noise and prepared to face a… chicken poking its head out of a cluster of ferns?

"Heh… Guess I'm feeling jumpy," Ranma chuckled to herself over having worried about encountering a wild chicken. "Nothing to see here, chicken, I'm just trying to find something to…" Ranma watched as the red-eyed chicken head rose up, revealing a long, reptilian neck. "Now that's just wro-"

**END PRELUDE…**

Dun… DUN… **DUNNNN!** O.O

O O O

I'm leaning towards Ranma being discovered by either Fluttershy or one of the Apples.

I do have a few questions for those interested in this story though:

1): What type of stone does a cockitrace turn living things into? Just from the pale grey, I'm assuming either granite or a type or marble, so Ranma could be there for years, decades, or even centuries while only showing minor signs of erosion before being found. Which leads me to question two…

2): About how long would Ranma have be in the "sleep of stone" for signs of minor erosion to occur? And, along the same lines, what is the range, from earliest to longest, that would be a reasonable assumption?


	2. Call of the Mild

_**A Wild Pony in Equestria**_

A Ranma ½ - My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic crossover fanfict by Tangent

**Pre-reading and editing assistance by:**

Nobody this time, as my regular pre-readers are apparently allergic to stories about ponies...

**Post-reading and editing assistance by:**

Pesterfield

and Vandenbz

**DISCLAIMER:** 'Ranma ½' and all characters therein belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogagukan, Kitty and Viz Video. 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic' and all characters therein belong to Hasbro. This fanfict has been produced for my own enjoyment and to pass on without profit. Other characters that come into play in this fanfict may or may not be pulled from other sources (including other fanficts, RPGs, manga, anime, literature, or possibly even *GASP* American comic books!).

**A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR:** I have written, torn apart, and rewritten segments of this chapter many times, as certain sections just didn't feel right to me. Then Xilore's review includes a suggestion that struck me as absolutely perfect (even if it resulted in me tearing up parts on this chapter yet again). I hope you find the wait worthwhile… ^-^;;

O O O

**CHAPTER ONE: Call of the Mild…**

Fluttershy made her way cautiously through the underbrush of the Everfree Forest, as she had done numerous times since she first moved into her home on the far South Eastern edge of Ponyville. Usually, these forays into the untamed wild were to rescue some poor critter that was either injured or orphaned by the harsh lifestyle inherent in the uncontrolled wilderness. Those particular expeditions never went any farther into the woods than absolutely necessary to perform the rescue, and considering the fact that she first had to become aware of the need for a critter to be rescued, generally tended to stay close to the nearby edge of the forest.

On rarer occasions, her reason for daring the depths of the Everfree Forest was to rescue a particular white hen. Elisabeak was the main reason her chicken coop had a surrounding fence in the first place. Normally, she'd simply let such a willful hen roam free, but unlike the other free range chickens in the village, Elisabeak did not have the sense not to wander into the forest. Heck, Elisabeak didn't even have enough sense to stay near the edge of the forest. Or go in straight lines, or follow landmarks…

Fluttershy shook her head clear of the unkind thoughts about Elisabeak, drew a deep breath, and bravely continued to exhibit extreme caution as she crept through the underbrush, following the tracks of her errant hen as they went even deeper into the woods, concern for the missing chicken warring with nervous fear. She did manage to take at least some solace that Elisabeak had gone missing during the day, as the Everfree Forest was even spookier when it was dark out.

Then she finally spotted Elisabeak up ahead, sitting on a grey pony near one of the creeks running through the forest.

"Oh, thank you ever so much for looking out for Elisabeak," the butter yellow Pegasus gushed quietly as she trotted towards the unfamiliar mare. "I do hope that Elisabeak wasn't any trou…ble…"

Stone.

The mare Elisabeak was sitting on was made of stone.

She was really quite lovely, with seemingly caught in mid-motion with an expression that suggested puzzled curiosity. Fluttershy wondered for a moment where the statue had come from, before remembering that the ruins were supposed to be somewhere in this direction.

"Look, Elizabeak," the pale yellow Pegasus said as she gathered up the white chicken in her forelimbs. " This must be a statue commemorating some brave hero or daring explorer of the past, set out to inspire those traveling to visit the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. It's a shame no pony goes there anymore - she must be really lonely now with no pony to encourage…"

O O O

Ranma was only vaguely aware of the world around her for the most part. Her thoughts had been sluggish and confused ever since she encountered the lizard-chicken thing, and she had a really hard time focusing her attention on anything.

She couldn't move for whatever reason, although she wasn't sure whether it was because she was drugged, poisoned, or under yet another curse. She felt really stiff, but not in the painful manner of muscle cramps. Just… rigid and unmoving.

Unblinking too, although that apparently didn't cause any more physical discomfort than anything else did at the moment.

Even Ranma's sense of time was kinda trippy. If nothing was going on around her, the sun seemed to speed across the sky, as did the moon and stars during the night.

The cycle of night and day sped by a few more times, getting faster and faster, and then a blurring, continuous streak that suddenly _**STOPPED!**_

...As something landed on her back, clucking like a chicken.

Not too long after that, she heard a gentle voice calling out. "Oh, thank you ever so much for looking out for Elisabeak." It took Ranma a moment to figure out what the voice was saying, as it had been a while since she last spoke English. The next sentence was more clearly understood, if incomplete. "I do hope that Elisabeak wasn't any trou…ble…"

A moment later, a pale yellow midget horse with a long flowing pink mane and tail wandered around Ranma and into her limited field of view. Granted, since her visual focus was centered on where the chicken-lizard had been, the pony was sort of doubled up and overlapped with itself, and the entire image was grainy, as if looking through a gritty filter, but it was better than nothing.

Then the visitor spoke again as she left her field of view and presumably took the chicken off of her back. "Look, Elizabeak, this must be a statue commemorating some brave hero or daring explorer of the past, set out to inspire those traveling to visit the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. It's a shame no pony goes there anymore - she must be really lonely now with no pony to encourage…"

And then the voice was gone, and time seemed to speed up once more…

O O O

Two more days zipped by before Ranma became aware of voices approaching once again. It was nice in a way, even if they didn't seem to realize that she wasn't actually a statue.

"Ooh, she is a beauty, Fluttershy!" a cultured feminine voice sang out. Ranma couldn't quite understand the muffled response, but the other voice did sound the same as the one from a few days ago. She must be a real quiet one, Ranma assumed. A shy type, just like her name implied. The next voice was more rough, but still female in nature.

"So this here's the statue y'all found. Sure looks nice enough. Ah kin see why you'd want t' have it in yer front yard."

"That stance…" the first voice began as the owner started moving around Ranma's unmoving form. "It's as if the sculptor caught her just as she paused to look at something. Such grace and poise, and dare I say confidence?" Ranma could now tell that the speaker was a white midget horse with blue eyes, blue diamond markings on her flanks, a horn on her head, and a styled purple mane and tail. "And that expression! You can just see that she is intrigued by something new and unexpected! Such detail… and yet the artist never etched her cutie mark… This just might be an unfinished masterwork, lost during the move from the old castle."

"Do you really think so, Rarity?" the little horse that Ranma now knew as Fluttershy looked down at the ground and started tracing circles in the dirt with her hooves as her… were those wings? As her wings briefly fluttered nervously. "You don't suppose that they will want it back, do you?"

"Oh, don't you fret now, dear," Rarity assured her friend, "We'll look for an artist's mark once we get it back to your place. If there is one, we'll write a letter to the Chamber of Arts in Canterlot and let them know that we found a lost work. If it does prove to be a lost work of a master sculptor, then I'm sure that the reward for finding it will be enough to commission a picture of it for you to serve in its place."

"Wouldn't they want this here statue, even without a maker's mark?" The owner of the third voice moved into Ranma's field of view, proving herself to be another, slightly larger mini-horse. This one with an orange coat, blue eyes, a blonde mane and tail, and a set of three apples depicted on each flank. She was also, for some strange reason, wearing a cowboy hat.

"Possibly, Applejack, but without one there is no proof of origin, and without that could have been made at any time by anypony. If that is the case, then the Royal Historical Society won't touch it, nor would the Chamber of Arts be able to claim it. At the very least, not without having it officially appraised first and then compensating the pony who actually found it for fair value. And that pony is Fluttershy."

"T'aint arguing' that. Ah just wanted to be sure we're on the up an' up is all…"

"I don't want to cause any trouble…"

"Now now, there shouldn't be any trouble at all, but if you are both that worried, then we shall simply check for the artisan's mark before we move it. The most likely places for the mark are the base, if it has one, or if it has no base, then either in or behind an ear, on or under a hoof, or somewhere along the ventral torso."

"The what now?"

"The underside of the main body. Most likely between either the fore or rear legs, although the ears or hooves are more common choices for statues lacking bases."

"Yeah… Why don't we check those areas first. Statue or not, Ah ain't checkin' another filly's nethers if'n Ah don't have to."

"It's unlikely that a mark would have been placed there anyway, but if it makes you that uncomfortable, I'll check that location if there's no mark anywhere else. Now be dears and help me check the hooves to see if any of them are anchored to a base. I don't think they are, given that they line up with the ground so well, but I'd rather not give myself a horn-ache trying to lift it if it happens to be anchored down."

"Oh, yes, of course."

"On it, Sugarcube!"

O O O

Ranma felt vaguely mortified as the three midget horses… or ponies as they seemed to refer to themselves… thoroughly examined her rigid body for a mark that she _knew_ wasn't there for them to find. Not that they weren't making an honest effort to check everywhere else first though, and she appreciated that. In fact, after checking (and digging a little) around her hooves, Ranma had the unique experience of being lifted by nothing, although from what had been said earlier, she suspected that it might have something to do with the glow around Rarity's horn.

Oddly, Ranma felt as if a thick fog was being lifted from her mind, and she realized that she had been experiencing some difficulty even thinking, despite being nominally aware of her situation.

And then she was tilted sideways.

"Quickly now, check the undersides of the hooves. I cannot hold something as heavy as this up indefinitely!"

"Got'cha."

"Okay…"

"Nothin' on these two, 'ceptin' some dirt…"

"I'll just clean that off. Any better?"

"Yeah, but still nothin'."

"There isn't any mark on these hooves either…"

"Then I suppose it falls to me to follow my word and check the last place."

Ranma, now able to feel fully mortified, was righted in mid air and held in place for a moment.

"Well, whoever sculpted her paid an extraordinary amount of attention to detail."

And then Ranma found herself moving toward a cart, which she was gently set down in.

"Ah take it y'found nothin' there either."

"No, I did not. Not that I was really expecting to, considering the sheer amount of attention to detail that was given to the rest of the body. For this level of work, and no base, the mark should have been in or behind one of the ears. But you were right - we had to check."

"Fair'nuff. Mind helpin' me strap 'er down nice 'n' tight like? Be a raht shame t' go through all this trouble just t' have Fluttershy's new statue fall over an' break if'n the cart rolls over a rock or somethin'."

"Here, tell me were you want the ropes to go, and I'll set these pads between the ropes and the statue to prevent accidental wear…"

"Ah'right. Then the first rope should go…"

O O O

Rarity levitated the stone pony out of the cart as Applejack undid the last of the ropes.

"Now, Fluttershy dear, where did you want-"

"Hi there!" Ranma almost dropped to the ground as a bright pink mini-horse with blue eyes, balloon marks on her flanks, and somewhat darker curly mane and tail practically popped up in middle of the group, obviously startling Rarity and Applejack and sending Fluttershy hiding under the cart with a quiet "eep!"

Next thing Ranma knew, the hyper pink bundle of cheerfulness was bouncing around her and occasionally looking her right in the eyes. "Oooh! Who is this supposed to be? Wait, don't tell me… Chip Stoneheart! No, no… I know! Hmmm… Stoneface McBoulderpony? Nah, too silly… Besides, McBoulderpony was a stallion. So was Chip Stoneheart for that matter… Maybe she's Jacky Appleseed! Is she one of your ancestors, Applejack? Wait, was Jacky Appleseed an Apple?"

Before the orange mare could do more than take a closer look at Ranma and begin to open her mouth, Pinkie was racing off at the mouth again. "Oh! Oh! I got it! Mesa the Explorer! No no no! Wrong hairstyle!"

"Pinkie…" Rarity started.

"Marble Livingstone the Third! I wonder what she was the third of?"

"Pinkie…" Rarity tried again.

"Aha! Coral Loft, Ruin Explorer and Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire! Am I right? I'm right, aren't I? She's got the braided mane and everything!"

"Pinkamina Diane Pie!"

"What? Oh… I got carried away again, didn't I?"

"Yeah, y' kin say that again."

"What? Oh… I got carried away again, didn't I?"

Applejack hoof-palmed her face. "Ah walked raht inta that one…"

"Yes… Yes, you did." Rarity replied dryly as she carefully set the statue down on the walkway leading to the front door to Fluttershy's cottage. "Now, let's see… where best to display this marvelous statue…"

"How 'bout near th' bridge, by th' inside of th' bend in th' path? That way she kin greet Fluttershy first thing when she comes home, or give her a raht proper send off as she leaves."

"Or how about over here, next to the outside bend near the front door? That way she can guard the door at night, and greet Fluttershy as soon as she comes outside!"

"Oh my…" Fluttershy responded in quiet indecisiveness. "I'm not sure… Those both sound like wonderful locations…"

"Hmm…" Rarity pondered. "Aesthetics wise, both locations are pretty good. We could always try it in one spot and then move it again later."

"Maht as well plunk 'er raht here then," Applejack concluded, gesturing with her right fore-hoof.

"Okay, if you really thing that's a good spot…" Fluttershy murmured in quiet agreement.

O O O

Ranma was somewhat bemused to find out that she had become a lawn ornament of sorts. While it was kind of frustrating being unable to move, at least she wasn't alone anymore.

A large portion of time still seemed to zip by, with nights and a good chunk of each day flashing by in moments as far as her hazy awareness could register the world around her. She couldn't even think clearly during those periods, barely forming even a single coherent thought before the next time somepony interacted with her.

In most cases, this pony was Fluttershy.

Each day, after Fluttershy took care of her animal friends (some of which, such as the bear, came as a big surprise to the petrified pony), the shy pony would check to see if she needed cleaning and tell her a bit about herself, or what her hopes and dreams were before heading out for the day, and then tell her about the day after taking care of her animal friends again once she returned to her home.

Ranma came to know Fluttershy rather well. For one, she was very kindhearted, if more than a little shy. She was also very fond of all sorts of animals, relating to them better than she did with most other ponies, who tended to intimidate her whether they meant to or not. She seemed to only have a few friends who came over with any sort of frequency, such as the elegant Rarity and a brash blue mare with a rainbow mane named (oddly enough) Rainbow Dash. Both of whose visits apparently having the admirable goal of getting Fluttershy out of her house more. Other ponies she had more or less friendly working relationships with, such as Dr. Pawheart the veterinarian, and the Apples.

According to various conversations Ranma overheard, Fluttershy had ongoing issues with anxiety, and there were all too many days when she was even afraid of her own shadow. Still, more often than not, she just came across as shy and a bit timid, and even on her worse days, she made sure to take care of her beloved animals and tried to spend some time with Ranma.

It was odd, Ranma decided, to be somepony's inspiration when she couldn't do anything herself. Odd, and yet strangely fulfilling, even if the support she gave the timid yellow Pegasus was largely indirect.

Another pony Ranma became somewhat familiar with was Ditzy Doo, the mail pony. Mostly because the grey Pegasus with yellow eyes, mane, and tail occasionally flew into her while delivering a package of birdseed or animal feed for Fluttershy. The cross-eyed mare would always get back up, apologize for bumping into her, and then start babbling for a few moments before becoming aware that she was talking to a statue.

The first few times Ditzy Doo did this, she ended up giggling awkwardly, apologizing again before laughing at herself and then going on her way. After that, apparently having heard somewhere that Fluttershy spoke to the statue in her yard for inspiration, she started doing so herself deliberately whenever she came by. Never staying long, but always saying something either about herself, her daughter (Dinky Doo - a unicorn filly), how her day was going, what plans she might have, and on rare occasion, her troubles as well.

No, not many ponies came to this sparsely populated neighborhood on the Southeast corner of Ponyville, and other than those few times whenever Rarity came by and did whatever it was her horn did to clean her off, Ranma's thoughts remained cloudy and muddled most of the time. While not exactly happy with her situation, Ranma had difficulty bringing herself to be more than sort of frustrated about it either.

The snows came and went twice, and had returned again by the time the next big event in what passed as Ranma's life happened.

The winter had apparently been unusually harsh this year, in part due to the wild weather resonating from the Everfree Forest. Most of Fluttershy's animal friends were now hibernating or otherwise gone until spring returned, and the shy pony was all bundled up muzzle to tail as she tried to clear the path from the cottage door to the nearby road.

The winter was apparently very bad in the forest itself this year, as fear spiked in Ranma's stone heart.

The bat-cat had had become hungry enough to leave its territory in the woods in hopes of better hunting.

If Fluttershy spotted it now, she'd be able to make it to the safety of her cottage in time.

But the bundled up Pegasus couldn't hear it as she continued to shovel the path clear.

Maybe it wouldn't notice her friend...

Fear became terror as the bat-cat paused and looked towards Ranma, and therefore Fluttershy as well.

Ranma tried in vain to warn her friend somehow. Fluttershy, run! Run now! Get to the cottage! Get to safety!

But, of course, her voice didn't work.

Terror mounted as the bat-cat silently stalked closer…

_***crrk* **_a hairline crack formed along the left foreleg of the stone pony.

Terror mixed with anger as Ranma realized that her friend's life was in danger and there…

…was…

_***crk-crack***_ a stone chip fell from Ranma's right shoulder. Anger became rage as the hungry beast drew ever closer.

…absolutely nothing…

_***crack-crrk-crumble* **_cracks rapidly spread all across the petrified pony. Rage became helpless fury as death stalked the kindest, gentlest being Ranma ever knew.

…she could do about it!

_***KA-BOOOOM!***_ Stone shards and granite dust flew everywhere as a shadowy silhouette crouched menacingly within and hissed territorially.

Little Mother was in danger. The intruder had to either be driven off…

…or die.

Twin roars echoed over Ponyville as Ranma and the manticore leapt at each other with death in their eyes…

**END CHAPTER ONE...**

O O O

Hoo-boy…

Ranma is finally free from the stone, only to fall straight into the Neko-Ken!

Some introduction to Ponyville, right? ^-^;;

Oh, and **Freaked Wotan**...

To answer your question about Ranma's missing Cutie Mark: I double checked the episode in which Fluttershy foalsat the Cutie Mark Crusaders just to make sure I got that particular detail right - Twilight Sparkle's Cutie Mark was not visible while she was petrified, therefore, neither was Ranma's.


	3. Winter Catfight! Winter Catfight!

_**A Wild Pony in Equestria**_

A Ranma ½ - My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic crossover fanfict by Tangent

**Pre-reading and editing assistance by:**

Still nobody this time…

**Post-reading and editing assistance by:**

Pesterfield

And Vandenbz

**DISCLAIMER:** 'Ranma ½' and all characters therein belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogagukan, Kitty and Viz Video. 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic' and all characters therein belong to Hasbro. This fanfict has been produced for my own enjoyment and to pass on without profit. Other characters that come into play in this fanfict may or may not be pulled from other sources (including other fanficts, RPGs, manga, anime, literature, or possibly even *GASP* American comic books!).

**A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR:** Some questions had been asked concerning the previous chapter. Such as what had happened to Ranma's cutie mark, and why hadn't anypony thought that she might be a petrified pony. The answer to the first is easy: in The Stare Master, Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark had not been visible while she herself was petrified - therefore, Ranma's cutie mark could not be represented either (the issue of how Ranma remained semi-aware while she was stone will be revisited in a later chapter). As for the ponies not guessing about the presence of a cockatrice - I blame inexperience. At this point, Ranma had been found by Fluttershy about three and a half years ago, and Twilight Sparkle's arrival in Ponyville is still a few months away, so at the time none of them knew that a cockatrice might be in the area.

O O O

**CHAPTER TWO: ~Winter Catfight, Winter Catfight…~ ^o^**

The winter had apparently been unusually harsh this year, in part due to the wild weather resonating from the Everfree Forest. Most of Fluttershy's animal friends were now hibernating or otherwise gone until spring returned, and the shy pony was all bundled up muzzle to tail as she tried to clear the path from the cottage door to the nearby road.

The winter had been particularly bad in the forest itself, forcing the overall temperature to drop really low and causing the snow in nearby areas to become exceptionally deep. After bundling up as best she could, Fluttershy ended up having to leave her cottage through the living room window in order to clear her walkway and make sure her front door could open.

Her chickens were currently over at Sweet Apple Acres, sharing warmth and safety in the farm's larger coop, along with many of Ponyville's other free range chickens, ducks and geese that were either not able or disinclined to travel south for the winter. It simply hadn't been plausible for her to keep them in their own coop this year as the snow kept drifting right up and over the short chicken-wire fence, effectively removing any security her hens had from the foxes, weasels, and other small predators that lived in the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy might get along with all sorts of animals, but even she had difficulty convincing non-hibernating predators to not eat her chickens when their normal prey had become abnormally scarce.

So while she was sad that she had to send her chickens away this winter, she was happy that they would be warm and safe on Applejack's farm. And it wasn't as if she couldn't visit them any time she liked. In fact, after she was done clearing the walkway, she'd have a nice little chat with Wild Pony as she brushed the statue off, and then go right over to Sweet Apple Acres to visit her chickens and help out with the extra animals the Apples were taking care of this winter.

*Chff-chff*

Between the thick insulating blanket of snow and the bundle of layers the shy pony had wrapped herself in, she could barely even hear the shovel in the preternaturally silent winter air.

*Chff-chff*

The bundled up Pegasus couldn't hear the manticore as it left the cover of the all too near Everfree Forest.

*Chff-chff*

Nor could Fluttershy hear the sound of the chips and cracks rapidly spreading across the statue she had long since dubbed Wild Pony.

_***KA-BOOOOM!***_

_That_, Fluttershy heard, as stone shards and granite dust flew everywhere as a shadowy silhouette crouched menacingly within and hissed territorially. She stared as a pair of eyes seemed to glow menacingly in the haze of the dust before a brief gust of wind cleared it away, revealing a brown mare with angry blue eyes, red mane and tail, and a grey sword-on-shield cutie mark on her flank. The stance the former statue took was eerily reminiscent of a cat trying to make itself look bigger in order to scare off a threat…

Whipping around, the pale yellow Pegasus saw the hunger maddened manticore that had been stalking her, and her heart nearly stopped as she let out an involuntary (if barely audible) squeak.

Fluttershy collapsed in a faint as twin roars echoed over Ponyville as Wild Pony and the manticore leapt at each other with death in their eyes…

O O O

"That sounded mighty close!" Applejack stated as she got up from the table. "Apple Bloom, stay here and mind Granny, y'hear?"

"Aww…"

"None of that now! If'n hunger's driven one 'r more of th' big critters out of th' Everfree, then it aint safe out there. Ah'll be meetin' up with Big Mac at least, an' maybe some of th' other farmers too so we can drive whatever came outa th' woods raht back in. Ah know y' want t' help, but it just aint safe for a little filly out there raht now."

"Okay…" Apple Bloom kicked the floor with a fore hoof. "Ah'll stay with Granny…"

"Good. Ah'll be back soon 'nuff." And with that, Applejack grabbed a rope and headed out the door. As it shut behind her, she couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Ah hope…"

O O O

Big Mac left the snow plow where it was as he thundered down the half-cleared roads of Ponyville. It would take too long to turn it around, and that set of roars sounded entirely too close to be wasting any time trying to bring it along.

Other stallions that had been out clearing the lanes joined up with the big red stallion as he passed by at a full gallop, barely slowed at all by the portions that had yet to be cleared. Those that hadn't joined right away were teaming up with those whose plows happened to be facing the right direction so that a sort of mobile barricade could be brought into play sooner rather than later.

Hopefully, whatever was fighting had remained in the Everfree Forest itself, and everypony would just be in for a long day maintaining watch where the forest met the town. However that hope was faint at best, as the roars had sounded far too close for either critter to remain in the woods, assuming they hadn't entered one of the outlaying neighborhoods already.

O O O

The Ponyville Weather Team was not officially part of any of the Equestrian military forces, air or otherwise. Ponyville was too far from any of the nation's borders and at the same time too close to the capital to merit a dedicated military post of its own. Technically, the town didn't even have much in the way of a local militia either. Not currently at any rate, as there hadn't been call for maintaining one in recent years. Just a handful of volunteers consisting mainly of retired soldiers trying to stay active and young idealists not quite old enough to actually enlist in the military yet. And, by default mostly, the Weather Team.

Largely unarmed and unarmored, the militia could fight fires, perform rescue and scouting duties, and assist in setting up or moving barricades if needed. The Weather Team added the ability to respond quickly to emergency situations, and if need be, bring weather magic to bear. They also acted as swift couriers, alerting the staff of Ponyville General Hospital to get ready, or summoning aid from the Air Brigade in Canterlot.

Rainbow Dash was new to the post of Captain of the Weather Team this year, hoof-picked by her immediate predecessor, Rolling Thunder, who had retired and gone off to Las Pegasus to be with his family, who had moved there last year, and spoil his grandfoals. He picked Rainbow Dash to replace him because, while she was admittedly young, relatively inexperienced, and a bit lazy, she was also capable of completing her responsibilities quickly and efficiently once she was motivated to do so, and she had yet to leave anyone who counted on her hanging.

Which is why she was up and out of her cloud-house the moment she heard the twin roars echoing over Ponyville, when she'd much rather be sleeping in.

She was quickly joined by some of the other Weather Team Pegasi as she flew towards the Southeast corner of Ponyville.

"Whoa…" Raindow Dash took in the devastation she found as she and her team got close enough to see what was going on. A clash of titans was happening, for all that one of them was no bigger than she was. A chestnut mare with crimson mane and tail fought in single combat and equal savagery against a monster five times her size, and for the life of her, Rainbow Dash could not tell who was winning, for both of them were bleeding from several sets of gashes!

"Wild manticore attack! Thunderlane! Go to the hospital and tell them to get ready for a medical emergency! You guys! Go help the road crews bring the snow plows over to form a barrier! Teams of at least four to a plow if you want to carry it, otherwise just help push! The rest of you, harassing tactics only! Do _**not**_ engage directly if you can help it - not even to pull that pony out of combat. Don't give me that look, _did you even __**see**__ what she did to that rock?_"

O O O

Two wild, feline based, creatures faced off against one another. One, the smaller of the two by far, was actually a former human boy now turned pony mare. Oddly enough, despite having hooves instead of hands, this change actually worked in the Neko-Ken's favor as the body it was using was now properly four legged. Her 'claws' did not require paws after all, and not having to contort the body as much to better fit cat-like postures and stances just meant that she could bring more speed and power to bear.

Her 'natural' weapons were few but formidable. Chi claws that could shred hard wood into strips as fine as excelsior paper or carve stone into smooth slices, albeit their effect against living flesh seemed to be muted in comparison. A menacing feline aura that just screamed out '_Hey! __**MY**__ territory! Hear __**MY**__ roar and Fear __**ME**__!_' Cat-like grace, reflexes, and battle instinct. And a near complete disregard for the comparative size of the opponent.

The other, a manticore. A mythical powerhouse of super-leonine might and draconic constitution, with sharp teeth and claws and a scorpion-like tail ending in a poisonous stinger. Few things, even in its own size range, were considered to be much of a threat to one of these majestic monsters. Fewer still were those that were smaller that could cause it much concern unless there were many of them. A prey creature such as a pony acting like a rival apex predator defending its territory _might_ have given this one pause just from the sheer absurdity of the situation.

In truth, this particular manticore was too maddened by starvation to really care. It was small, it was edible, and as soon as he could kill it, it was meat.

Coincidentally, what passed as their thoughts as the two titans battled amounted to pretty much the same thing, consisting mostly of the emotions of rage and terror, the sensation of unfamiliar pain, and one shared perplexing question:

'_How is this thing even hurting me?'_

O O O

Applejack and Big Mac arrived on the scene at roughly the same time and quickly paired up to approach the ongoing battle more cautiously.

"Well dang… Outa all th' things Ah expected when Ah heard this here commotion all th' way back at th' farm, I never expected the likes o' this. Y'ever see the likes, Big Mac?"

"Enope…"

"Like watchin' two wildcat's fight, fer all that one's a monster and the other's a pony less'n half his mass. Wonder how she's doin' that - Ah don't see no weapons on her…"

"Prob'ly specialized Earth Pony magic," the normally laconic stallion observed. "Pretty rare ability though. Th' only pony that Ah ever heard of that could do anythin' close these days is an Earth Pony from Neighpony that goes by th' name Spruce Tree. And he don't fight nothin' like this from what Ah seen in th' movies…"

O O O

Deep in the Neko-Ken, Ranma wanted to do little more now except run away. Her opponent was proving to be especially resilient despite the harm she had already inflicted upon him, and the fight had already lasted far longer than any other she could recall. She was faring far worse than usual as well, having been raked several times by vicious claw swipes, and stung more than once on top of that, and she was in more pain than she could ever remember being in since she first emerged to protect the Other.

Ever before, she had come to shield the Other. To become that which he feared the most and assert her dominance so that they would know that she was _**Dangerous**_ and not to be trifled with. But now, for the first time she had ever known, she wasn't enough.

The enemy was too strong, too determined. It wouldn't give up or run away.

She wanted to run. To get away and hide. To lick her wounds and take comfort in the safety of a Warm Lap.

But she couldn't run.

If she ran, the monster would eat Little Mother.

Little Mother, who had found her in the woods and brought her Home…

Little Mother, who cleaned her, took care of her, and kept her company like a mother should…

Little Mother, who now needed a defender, a protector, a warrior…

She needed to be _more_, like the Other could be. To be able to reach deep inside and find what was needed to win the fight. To find that special something, whatever it may be, that had let the Other overcome impossible odds.

To willpower through Prince Toma's illusions, so authentic that they caused real damage…

To defeat Prince Kirin and shatter his tower…

To fight off Prince Herb and destroy Treasure Mountain…

To kill Saffron, the Pheonix King, who could recover instantly from all injuries no matter how severe…

Power that the Other could call on in times of great need. She didn't understand what it really was or how it worked. She was incapable of comprehending the combination of intuitive tactics and desperate determination that allowed the Other to reach deep and pull victory not only from the jaws, but sometimes from the very throat of defeat. She just knew that the Other did so, and now she needed to do so as well.

So, for the first time ever, she did so herself, despite not knowing what to do. There was no thought, no planning, involved at any step of the way. She simply reached deep into herself. She found the Other, but he would not be enough. Reaching deeper still, she found the Power, but there was something more. Some connection that was not there before, so she reached even farther and caught hold of it and everything else, pulling it all up in one tangled mess in hopes that it would sort itself out and help her protect Little Mother…

O O O

Those who live in Equestria and the world it is located on were familiar with the phenomenon of Heart Songs. Times of great emotion in somepony's life that somehow caused appropriate music to play as he or she sang about whatever was inspiring them at the moment. Occasionally, these Heart Songs were powerful enough to draw other ponies into them, leading them to dance, march, or sing as required. They were almost always beautiful spectacles to behold, uplifting and awe inspiring.

So the gathered ponies of Ponyville were a little taken aback by the harsh, beating rhythm that suddenly carried over the battlefield.

And then, the strange brown pony who was fighting the manticore like a mare possessed began to sing…

"Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi!"

And then Applejack and Rainbow Dash joined in the odd chorus, followed shortly by the rest of the gathered mares.

"_Oi! Oi! __**Oi! Oi! Oi!**_"

At which point Big Mac and the other stallions joined in all at once!

"_**OI! OI! OI! OI! OI!**_"

And then everypony fell silent once again as the crimson maned mare sang and fought on…

_"When I was stone, and all alone,_

_"She came and found me._

_"She brought me home and talked to me,_

_"So I could help her dream…"_

The manticore paused briefly in confusion, as this particular situation had simply never happened to it before.

_"Then you came out of the woods,_

_"And then she caught your sight,_

_"Ain't got no sword, ain't got no knife,_

_"Don't you start no fight…"_

And then the mare and the manticore were back at it again, tooth and fang, claws and hooves, even more violent than before. And against all odds, the savage fury of the pony was now beginning to actually force the monster back…

_"Cause I'm Wild Pony, I'm dynamite!_

_"Wild Pony, and I'll win the fight!_

_"Wild Pony, I'm a power load!_

_"Wild Pony, watch me EXPLODE!"_

Again the two combatants paused, the larger breathing heavy, ragged breaths as the smaller sang on…

_"I'm dirty, mean, and mighty unclean,_

_"I'm an untamed mare…_

_"Martial Artist Number One,_

_"Oh, don't you dare!"_

The fight started up again as the two took careful measure of the other. Both were bleeding heavily, even more so from the last exchange than at any point prior, but this time it was the monster who took the greater amount of damage.

_"I'm tough as a boulder, sharp as a knife,_

_"Go back to the forest, and run for your life!_

_"The mare is back in town,_

_"Don't you mess around…"_

Probing attacks once again burst into a frenzy of hoof, tooth, fang, and claw as the two ripped wildly into each other!

_"Cause I'm Wild Pony, I'm dynamite!_

_"Wild Pony, and I'll win the fight!_

_"Wild Pony, I'm a power load!_

_"Wild Pony, watch me EXPLODE!"_

All the ponies watching the fight started stomping their hooves aggressively as they sang the next stanza.

**"_Wild Pony! Oi! Oi! Oi!_**

**"_Wild Pony! Oi! Oi! Oi!_**

**"_Wild Pony! Oi! Oi! Oi!_**

**"_Wild Pony! Oi! Oi! Oi!"_**

And then, as the fight was winding down and the manticore started backing away towards the Everfree Forest, his opponent gathered up for the final rush as she once again sang out, each line accompanied by the crowd shouting out three short syllables…

_"Wild Pony, I'm dynamite (**Oi! Oi! Oi!**)_

_"Wild Pony, and I'll win the fight! (**Oi! Oi! Oi!**)_

_"Wild Pony, I'm a power load! (**Oi! Oi! Oi!**)_

_"Wild Pony, watch me **EXPLODE~****!**"_

And then the manticore broke and turned, sprinting as fast as it could back into the Everfree Forest, where it continued to run long and hard, until it eventually collapsed from exhaustion.

The chestnut mare with the crimson mane stood there and watched as it disappeared from her sight, waited a moment or two longer before turning and heading back to where a certain path had been left half cleared of snow.

Her gate was slow, almost stumbling, easily allowing the surrounding ponies to cautiously approach her as she reached her destination. Once there, she carefully nuzzled Fluttershy's unconscious body until the pale yellow Pegasus stirred.

"Hey, you okay? I drove the bat-kitty away before he could hurt you…"

"Umm… I'm fine, I guess…"

"That's good. Thanks for finding me in the woods and keeping me company and all."

"You're welcome?" Fluttershy replied, confused for a moment before suddenly realizing that this pony had been her lawn statue. "Eep! Sorry…"

"Hey, none of that now. It really meant a lot to me, you taking care of me when I couldn't do anything at all. I was glad to help by giving you somepony to talk to."

"Umm… alright…"

"Anyway… Sorry about this…" and then the strange brown mare simply collapsed on the spot in a dead faint.

Fluttershy looked over the unconscious pony, taking in all the blood oozing from numerous gaping wounds and the shallow, stuttering breaths that grew weaker and weaker until they gasped to a shuddering stop…

Checking as well as she could, terror gripped the Pegasus's heart as she could find no signs of life in the fallen pony…

"_**MEDIC! SOMEPONY! ANYPONY! HELP HER! SHE'S DYING!**_"

Fluttershy's yell was heard all over Ponyville…

**END CHAPTER TWO…**

O O O

Poor Ranma just can't seem to catch a break…

Still, I can't imagine any other visitor to Equestria pulling themselves out of a berserk state like the Neko-Ken by the sheer dumb luck of reaching deep into her reserves and yanking out a Heart Song! ^-^;;

And, apparently, in her befuddled, battle-drunk state, she identified with the name Fluttershy had given her… 9.9;;

Well, Actually, now that I think about it, Jellyfish Queen's suggestion makes more sense, so instead, in her befuddled, battle-drunk state, Ranma over-translated her name, which only coincidentally matched up with the name Fluttershy had given her. Or the Battle Heart Song did it for her! Or... or... the tangled mess that the Neko-ken dragged up out of her deep psyche did it! Oh, look! An obvious distraction! *runs away*

*ahem*

As for "Wild Pony" picking up on the use of ponyisms, English (and therefore Equish) is not her native language, so I figure that she picked up the local terms simply from hearing them so often from Fluttershy and other ponies talking to or around her.

Anyway, as far as I know, there is no canon pony named Spruce Tree, whether he or she be from Neighpony or anywhere else. In this story, Spruce Tree is a famous movie Martial Artist, known for his exotic fighting style and such moves as the "One Inch Punch." So, yes, he's an expy of Bruce Lee. And possibly Jackie Chan…


	4. Trauma Drama

_**A Wild Pony in Equestria**_

A Ranma ½ - My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic crossover fanfict by Tangent

**Pre-reading and editing assistance by:**

Still nobody this time…

**Post-reading and editing assistance by:**

Pesterfield

and Vandenbz

**DISCLAIMER:** 'Ranma ½' and all characters therein belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogagukan, Kitty and Viz Video. 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic' and all characters therein belong to Hasbro. This fanfict has been produced for my own enjoyment and to pass on without profit. Other characters that come into play in this fanfict may or may not be pulled from other sources (including other fanficts, RPGs, manga, anime, literature, or possibly even *GASP* American comic books!).

**A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR:** Okay, I recently watched one of Digibrony's videos "_What Applejack's and Rainbow Dash's Elements Should Have Been_," which presented a somewhat popular point that the two ponies should have had the Element that the other got based on how they were portrayed throughout the series. Digibrony then made a case for Applejack representing Dependability, with Rainbow Dash representing Authenticity (which would still be Loyalty and Honesty respectively).

I can easily see Twilight Sparkle making a mistake in interpreting which of the two got which Element. Which makes her later attempt to make Spike the new Loyalty during the Discord encounter hilariously doomed to fail instead of plausible. He _is_ loyal and dependable, but authenticity is not really one of Spike's virtues.

So, I ask you, the readers, should I run with this interpretation? I can easily do so, since the pivotal Summer Sun Celebration has yet to happen in this story. On that note, I was also toying with the idea of Ranma representing a _new_ Element, either another one for Harmony (and completing the Rainbow of Friendship with it's full _seven_ colors, or have him represent the start of a complementary set to the Elements of Harmony. Either way, I'm open to suggestions as to which Element Ranma would be, whether new or old, or if he should be one at all.

Anyway, on with the story!

O O O

**CHAPTER THREE: **_**Trauma Drama…**_

Ranma drifted in and out of consciousness in a hazy world full of pain, fever dreams, and ponies…

"_Get those sutures done so we can finish bandaging her! She's still losing more blood than she's taking in!"_

Ooh… she hadn't heard _that_ one before. Must have been a pretty nasty fight. And the ponies were doctors. Good to know. So sleepy…

"_**BREATHE, DAMN YOU! BREATHE! **__Damn it, her heart's stopping again! __**CLEAR!**__"_

Ow… Not a fun time to be awake… Better to check again later…

"_How can we be out of antivenin already? Ponyville is right next to the freaking Everfree Forest! We should have barrels of the stuff on hand! __**WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'THE REST WAS SHIPPED TO CANTERLOT CENTRAL?' **__Who authorized that?"_

Well, that didn't sound good… Wonder who was poisoned? Or had Akane tried to cook again? Bah… too tired… sleep sounds good…

"_Damn it, not again! __**BREATHE! BREATHE, DAMN YOU! DON'T YOU WANT TO LIVE? **__Then__** BREATHE! **__Oh thank Celestia her heart kept beating that time…"_

Pushy doctors, always ordering her around… Heh, she'd show them…

"_**NO! NO! NO! CLEAR!"**_

Ow… Okay, no playing with the doctors… they don't play fair… sleepy…

"_Where is that courier! We __**NEED**__ more antivenin!"_

O O O

Rainbow Dash trotted in place as she waited impatiently at the pharmacy counter in Canterlot Central Hospital. She had made record time on her way here, completing a normally one hour rush flight in just under half the time, but she took no pride in that, as she feared that she hadn't been anywhere near fast enough.

Poor Wild Pony had lost a lot of blood by the time they got her to Ponyville General Hospital, having gotten raked by the manticore's sharp claws several times before she had driven it off, and had been stung two or three times during the fight as well. The doctors were having a lot of trouble keeping her alive, having apparently run out of the special antivenin that Wild Pony needed to clear the manticore venom from her system.

The jerk behind the pharmacy counter wasn't helping much either, having skimmed over the order before calling in a nurse to handle it, and then just sitting there looking bored, reading the packet of papers that came with it before placing them in a fresh folder, scribbling something on it, and filing in a cubby on the wall behind him.

"Hate to break it to you, Honeypot, but you may as well relax and catch your breath. According to the doctors working on her, the patient had already been resuscitated at least twice by the time they sent for you. If they were able to keep her going, they probably had to do so at _least_ twice more in the time it took you to get here in the first place, what with the flight taking a whole hour even for a _fast_ courier. Sorry to say this, but with the amount of manticore venom in your friend, it would have been kinder just to let her die…"

**POW!** The clerk was knocked out of his chair, having been struck in the face by the sky blue Pegasus.

"I _dare_ you to say that again!" the furious, rainbow maned pony was practically climbing over the counter while shouting. "What kind of medical professional are you! Wild Pony is a hero, and I'll be _damned_ if I don't do my best to save her after what she did! I cut your so-called fastest time in _half_ on the way here, and with Celestia as my witness, I'll cut that by half again on the way back if I can! Rainbow Dash doesn't leave _anypony_ hanging, not like some creepy, uncaring jerk like you!"

"**GUARDS! GUARDS! **Crazy pony! Crazy pony! _**Save me! GUARDS!**_"

"Yeah, you _better_ call for help, _jerk!_"

Just then, a unicorn nurse returned carrying a packet. "Here's the rush antivenin order for Ponyville General…"

"'Kay, thanks! Love you! Buh-bye!" And with that, Rainbow Dash snatched the packet from where it had been floating in the air and zipped out the door right between the arriving guards.

"I want to report an assault!"

"What happened?" one of the guard Pegasi asked as his partner took off after the apparent perpetrator.

"That bubble-brained courier hit me!"

"What happened," the nurse clarified, "was Mister _Sensitivity_ here telling a high strung pony that her friend, who she was picking up an order for, was probably better off dead. _I_ would have hit him after that!"

"What! But I…"

"I don't want to hear it, jerk! And don't think that I won't report this!"

"Okay," The guard pony stepped between the two. "If you can both calm down, I think I really need to get the whole story here…"

O O O

How dare he? _How dare he? __**HOW DARE HE?**_

Rainbow Dash flew on, accelerating faster, ever faster, ignoring the guard pony she was rapidly leaving behind.

Bitter tears poured from her eyes as she flew faster than she ever had in years. Even faster than she had only a few, impossibly long, minutes ago…

So much for her dream of joining the Wonderbolts. Not with an assault and running from the law on her record. She'd be lucky if she managed to keep any position at all on the Weather Team after this stunt.

Faster and faster still, she flew, her wings bluring as a friction cone formed before her…

But how _dare_ he say that Wild Pony was better off dead? She was a hero! Like one of the epic _legends,_ right out of the freaking ancient past, able to fight off monsters all by herself and saving the day! She saved Fluttershy's _life_, damn it!

The friction cone sharpened as Rainbow Dash flew faster than almost any time she ever had before…

Wild Pony deserved _better_ than to die in pain on the operating table! And Rainbow Dash would be damned herself if she didn't give her all in doing her part to save a hero's life!

_***BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!***_

O O O

"Whoa…" Thunderlane gawked in awe at the multicolored shockwave originating in the sky between Ponyville and Canterlot. "That was a Sonic Rainboom! She's been trying to do that again for _years!_"

"YEAH!" Snowflake hoof-pumped. The over-muscled white Pegasus stallion ducked his head into the hospital lobby to check the clock there. "Rainbow Dash is making great time! She'll make it there with over a quarter hour to spare! That. Is. _AWESOME!_"

Cloudchaser tilted her head. "Wait… I see her contrail… She's not on her way _to_ Canterlot, she's on her way _back_ already!"

"By Celestia! At that speed…" Thunderlane did some quick mental calculations. "Quick! Form a Cloud Crash Cushion! She's coming in too fast to stop! Cloudchaser, keep an eye on Rainbow Dash! If she drops or tosses the package, go for it and take it in for her! Move, ponies! Move, move _MOVE!_"

The Weather Team barely had time to finish forming a serviceably large Cloud Crash Cushion in front of the hospital when the rainbow streak hit it at nearly full speed, tossing a small blur to the side at the last second before she hit, practically obliterating the emergency crash structure.

_***Thwap-WHUMPH!***_

Cloudchaser didn't even take the time to check, as she had spun in place the very instant she caught the package and flew into the hospital with her precious cargo.

"Clear the clouds!" Thunderlane yelled "We need to find the captain _now!_"

The remaining bits of condensed cloud were swiftly dispersed, revealing a short, shallow impact trench in the snow, at the end of which lay their unconscious Weather Captain, a bit scraped and bruised, and with her right wing twisted at wrong angles.

Fortunately, a pair of paramedic ponies had already come galloping out of the hospital with a stretcher…

"Less than three quarters of an hour there and back…" Thunderlane muttered in awe. "Captain, you're something else!"

O O O

Rarity entered the waiting room and quickly made her way to where Fluttershy and Applejack were sitting. She and Applejack had grown somewhat closer in the past few years since the day Fluttershy had found that statue in the woods. Where they had once been mere acquaintances before with a mutual connection through their friendship with Fluttershy, the events of that day had been the start of an awkward but valued friendship.

They still didn't quite understand each other's chosen lifestyles, but they respected one another enough to keep their occasional quibbles about each other's perceived faults more or less at the level of playful banter, rather than hurtful sniping. Most of the time.

"Fluttershy, Applejack, darlings, I came over as soon as I heard! What's this about Fluttershy's statue coming to life and fighting off a manticore?"

"S'all true," Applejack stated, placing a hoof over her heart. "Turns out she was somepony by th' name of Wild Pony who'd been turned ta stone sometime before Fluttershy here found her."

"I didn't know," the pale yellow Pegasus murmured, her quiet voice laden with guilt. "It never occurred to be that she might have been petrified. I should have suspected… tried to get help for her…"

"Don't you fret none, Fluttershy. T'weren't none of us caught on to that possibility. Even the pony Rarity called in from Canterlot thought Wild Pony was just a statue, an' she was an art expert."

"Applejack is right, Fluttershy," Rarity responded dryly, "If even an expert fails to suspect that Wild Pony was not actually a sculpture, then none of us, least of all you, can be held accountable for also failing to consider that the statue you found might have been a victim of petrification."

"Point is, Fluttershy, there weren't any way for y' to know, so don't y' go beatin' yerself up over it. 'Sides, y' heard what she said to y' after th' fight. She was raht grateful that y' found her and kept her company an' all."

"By Celestia!" Rarity gasped, "she was _aware?_"

"Apparently so. Can't really 'magin what that must have been lahk, bein' unable to move all those years. Unable to even blink. An' all alone with nopony to keep her company until Fluttershy came along…"

The three mares sat quietly for a while before one of the hospital nurses entered the waiting room.

"Is there a Fluttershy here?"

"…"

"Over here," Applejack waved. Turning back to the shy pony, she lay a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "Now buck up some, Sugarcube. The nurse pro'lly just has some news, is all. Doesn't mean it's bad, or nothin.'"

"Is Wild Pony okay?" Fluttershy asked as the nurse approached.

"Wild Pony was in post-op under observation while we waited to make sure she's stable. We just moved her to her assigned room, and came to see if you wanted to visit her, since she was asking after you."

"Okay… umm… If it isn't any bother, do you suppose that Rarity and Applejack can come along? To visit Wild Pony, I mean… If that's alright…"

"I'm sure it will be fine," The nurse assured Fluttershy. "Now, if you'll just follow me, I'll take you straight to her room…"

O O O

Wild Pony was vaguely aware that her thoughts were muddled. In part, she had no doubt, due to the timed painkiller feed connected to the tube leading from her main I.V. bag. There was a button at the end of a wired remote left next to her right fore hoof if she wanted a dose early, and she had been assured that it had been set up so that she couldn't activate it any sooner than the minimum interval allotted so that she couldn't overdose. Still, she tried to hold off as long as possible, letting the timer take care of it on its own just so long as the pain wasn't unbearable.

It was hard enough dealing with the jumbled mess the Cat-Hoof left of her psyche when it… Well… Wild Pony still wasn't sure just _what_ it had done. Just that it had reached _deep_ and pulled _everything_ it could up to the surface in hopes that something would enable it to win the fight and save Little Mother from the bat-cat thingy. Being drugged further out of her mind wasn't helping matters any.

For one thing, despite the evidence of her body, Wild Pony had the strangest feeling that she was actually supposed to be another species. Some sort of nearly hairless monkey or ape. And… male? But somehow sometimes female instead? And water was involved somehow.

Better to ignore that feeling for now.

It was easy enough to do, considering that she was quite used to ignoring the part of her that thought she was a cat.

~_Mew mew mew mew meow mew mew mew_~

Usually, anyway. Wild Pony suppressed a shudder as the mental image of a red furred kitty rolled across her mindscape, playfully batting at loose strands of thoughts, memories, and who knew what else…

…And then it batted a connection that lead _elsewhere_…

"Is there anypony _**out there?**_"

Wild Pony's eyes went wide as she slowly looked left, then right, but failed to find anypony else in the room with her…

And then music started from everywhere and nowhere at all. A slow, almost hypnotic rhythm…

"Hello… (hello… hello…),

"Is there anypony in there?

"Just nod if you can hear me,

"Is there anypony home?"

Who was singing? Who? _Who_? And where was that music coming from? There was literally nopony else in the room at all!

"Come on (come on)… now,

"I hear you're feeling… down.

"Well I can ease your pain,

"Get you on your hooves again."

Wild Pony's eyes widened again in shock, as she realized that _she_ was the one singing!

"Relax (relax, relax)…

"I need some information… first,

"Just the basic facts,

"Can you show me where it hurts?"

She had a musical guru in her head that wanted to play doctor with herself?

"There is no pain, you are receding…

"A distant ship's smoke on the horizon…

"You are only coming through in waves…

"Your lips move, but I can't hear what you say…"

And then a chorus of Wild Pony's own voice joined her own, freaking her out even more!

"When I was a foal, I had a fever…

"My hooves felt just like four balloons…

"Now I got that feeling once again…

"I can't explain, you would not understand,

"This is not how I am!"

That last bit, Wild Pony had to admit to herself, had to be true, even if she wasn't so sure about the hooves feeling like balloons bit when she was little. For one thing, part of her still insisted that she used to have _hands_, whatever those were…

"I~I~I have become… Comfortably numb…"

Ooooh, That felt _niiiiiiiiiice!_ And the accompanying guitar solo was kind of trippy in a good way…

"I~I~I have become… Comfortably numb…"

"Okay (okay, okay)…

"Just a little pin prick,

"That we don't go aaah~ah~ah!

"But you may feel a little sick!"

And she did feel a bit nauseous as the time released painkiller flowed unto her system.

"Can you stand up (stand up, stand up)?

"I do believe it's working… good!

"That'll keep you going for the show,

"Come on it's time to go."

Wait… what show? Where was she going? Why had she gotten up? The nice comfy hospital bed was back _that_ way!

"There is no pain, you are receding…

"A distant ship's smoke on the horizon…

"You are only coming through in waves…

"Your lips move, but I can't hear what you say…"

Oh, look, the hallway had other ponies! There was Little Mommy, and Hat Pony, And Marshmallow, and… Wild Pony had no idea who the fourth pony was, but she was sure that she was nice too…

"When I was a foal, I caught a fleeting glimpse,

"Out of the corner of my eye…

"I turned to look, but it was gone,

"I cannot put my fore hoof on it now,

"The Foal has grown, the dream is gone."

The new filly was trying to guide Wild Pony gently back into her room, but her own hooves skidded backwards on the floor as the heavily bandaged mare kept trotting aimlessly forward.

"I~I~I have become… Comfortably numb…"

And there was that strange, trippy instrumental section again! At least it looked like she wasn't the only pony who heard it. Wild Pony felt better about that. Hat Pony had taken the new pony's place in trying to guide the singing pony back into her assigned room.

O O O

The music faded away about the same time Applejack got Wild Pony back to her bed.

"Hi~i!" the heavily medicated pony greeted. "I'm feeling _mush_ better now! I think I'll go for a walk! Walk… walk, walky walk…"

"Uhuh," the farm pony snorted. "Ah think y' should put a rain check on that thought 'till y' actually _are_ better, Sugarcube."

"Ooooh… dizzy. Maybe I should lay down…"

"Now there's a thought," Applejack agreed. "Now if'n you'd just get in th' bed behind ya… No, no! The. Bed! Not th' floor! Rarity, Nurse Redheart, could y' give me a hoof here? She's gone as limp as a cat…"

_**WHAP!**_

"How the Hay?" Applejack looked up into the corner of the room where a now very apparently terrified Wild Pony had wedged herself against the ceiling.

"Cat? Where? _Bad_ kitties! _Evil_ kitties! There's one, in my head, playing with things it shouldn't, but I don't know how to make it go to sleep again. No no no, kitty! Mustn't play with the~"

Loud music once again emerged from everywhere and nowhere at once.

"**Heyaaaaaah! **The Magical Musical Thing!

"**Heyaaaaaah! **The Magical Musical Thing!

"The Magical Musical Thing, that makes a pony just want to sing…"

And then the music came to a sudden, almost screeching halt as Wild Pony shoved both of her fore hooves into her mouth. At which point she fell, as she was no longer bracing herself in place.

Fortunately, Rarity caught the falling filly with her magic and placed her gently into the hospital bed, tucking her in. "There you go, Dear, nice and snug. Now do take your hooves out of your mouth. It's rather unsightly…"

Wild Pony shook her head.

"Oh you poor dear…" Fluttershy came over and started stroking the bandaged pony's crimson mane. "Are you afraid that the Heart Song will start up again if you take your hooves out?" At the chestnut mare's frightened nod, she gently continued. "Oh, you silly filly… No pony _has_ to sing a Heart Song if they _really_ don't want to. Now please take your hooves out of your mouth… there you go!"

"Little Mommy?" Wild Pony looked at Fluttershy with wide, pleading eyes.

The Pegasus grew wide eyed herself and looked at the other three mares in the room, who just stared, equally shocked at the childlike tone of the plea. Then Applejack shook her head, stood firm, and waved a hoof encouragingly toward Fluttershy.

"Yes Dear?"

"Will you stay with me to keep the kitties away?"

"Of… Of course, Dear. I'll keep the mean nasty kitties away. Why don't you get some sleep?"

"Okay…" Wild Pony yawned, her heavy lidded eyes almost closed already. "Little Mommy?"

"Yea Dear?"

"You're _much_ better than my real mommy… she never came to save me from the kitties when Daddy kept throwing me into The Pit…"

"There there," Fluttershy kept stroking the resting pony's crimson locks, her own heart breaking at the revelation. "You're safe now… I'm here… No pony is going to hurt you…"

"I love you, Little Mommy…" Wild Pony murmured, almost asleep already. "I wish my real Mommy was like you…"

The four other mares in the room just looked at each other as the bandaged filly drifted off to sleep, still being stroked by Fluttershy.

"Ah know it ain't raht an' all," Applejack fought to keep the fury she was feeling out of her voice, "but raht now Ah _hope_ Wild Pony spent a whole passel o' years as a statue! 'Cause if'n what she just said has any bearin' on her actual life, then there are two ponies Ah reckon are _better off_ back in th' distant past!"

"She… she sounded so young… she must have only been a little filly when it happened… and her own parents! I simply cannot imagine!"

"It's… it's… probably just the medication," Nurse Redheart stated shakily, as she checked the machine and gathered the separated I.V. tubing from the floor. "She was just dosed right before we arrived." Checking the patient, she nodded. "Good, the needle stayed in. I'll be back shortly with fresh tubing and a new bag, but I'll have to let one of the doctors know that she may be reacting poorly to the pain-killer."

"It's not dangerous or nothin' is it?"

"Oh no, not at all. It should be quite safe at these doses. She just seems to be unusually susceptible to the side effects. Although I never heard of it causing anypony to break out into a Heart Song before."

"Least th' tune was easier on th' ears than her last one."

"It would almost have to be," Rarity commented, "the theme was entirely different."

"Ah thought y' said y' came as soon as y' heard? Fluttershy's call for a medic afterwards was a maht bit louder than even that Heart Song…"

"…" Rarity pouted for a moment, then sighed and, in a resigned tone admitted, "I was hiding under the bed covers with Sweetie Belle, okay? She… _We_… were quite frightened, and took a while to calm down, even after it was all over." The things she did for her sister. Not that she hadn't been a bit unnerved herself, but better to let them think that they were _both_ scared completely out of their wits than let them know that her younger sister had become _so_ terrified that she had lost control of her bladder. On Rarity's favorite bed sheets too, but she couldn't blame the poor dear for that, anymore than she could blame Wild Pony for her… episode.

"Ah understand," Applejack replied, and said nothing more on the matter.

O O O

Cloud Eastwind was exhausted by the time he reached Ponyville. He had flown as fast and as hard as he could while chasing the Courier all the way from Canterlot Central Hospital, and had managed to do so in just over an hour, which was pretty darn impressive for an armored pony who wasn't a rush delivery courier. However, any pride Eastwind may have had in his personal accomplishment was overshadowed by the fact that the particular courier he was chasing had crossed the same distance in minutes! A mere _fraction_ of the time the best couriers usually took to do so!

Fortunately, the destination of the mare he had been chasing was pretty obvious, and hadn't deviated in the slightest from what her supposed mission was.

Ponyville General Hospital.

Which was pretty damn convenient for the courier as it was readily apparent that she had crashed on arrival.

Not particularly surprising, given the sheer speed she had been traveling, Eastwind mused as he landed as gently as his exhaustion allowed and tried to catch his breath. She wouldn't have had enough time to slow down after accelerating that much.

Once the Guard pony had caught his breath, he took a few more moments to study the scene. _Something_ had managed to bleed off the courier's speed considerably before she hit the ground, as the impact trench was short, shallow, and (most importantly) not bloody. Most likely a Cloud Crash Cushion had been set up by the local Weather Team, either before hand, or after they had noticed the speed that their courier was returning at.

Damn fine job either way.

From the hoof prints and wheel tracks, it looked like she had been taken into the hospital.

As he went into the building, Eastwind hoped that the pony was okay, because he had little interest in actually arresting the courier despite having gone through all that effort chasing her all the way from Canterlot. He understood that she was under the pressure of having to complete a time-sensitive turn-around due to some sort of medical emergency. One which the courier herself felt worth the risk of injuring herself in order to complete it in the shortest amount of time possible.

While it was likely that the clerk she had struck would press charges (he seemed the type: self-important, insensitive, and petty), Eastwind doubted that the charges would stick as long as the courier's mission had been due to an authentic medical emergency.

No, he was here to get the facts first, find out what had happened, who was involved, and… well… everything!

Traversing the lobby and passing a small crowd of ponies that seemed more anxious and worried than injured, Eastwind approached the check-in station. "Excuse me, but was a blue mare with a rainbow mane and tail brought in about an hour ago?"

O O O

"Well, she seems to be sleeping peacefully enough," Doctor Stable commented as Nurse Redheart got the patient set up with a new I.V. drip. "Now, I have to ask, are any of you willing to house Wild Pony and help her with her bandages once she's let out of the hospital?"

"But of course."

"Not a problem."

"…I would like to…"

"Good, then we'll discuss who she will be staying with later, once she's both conscious and clear headed enough to actually make a choice. In the meantime, since you are all potential volunteers, please clean up in the bathroom right over there, then watch as Nurse Redheart assists me in changing Wild Pony's bandages and show you how to check and take care of her wounds and what to watch for."

The three ponies quickly washed up, then took their positions around Wild Pony's bed as indicated.

"I have to warn you," Doctor Stable began as he and Nurse Redheart carefully undid a section of bandages, "it is almost certain that she popped some stitches with her antics earlier. This will be a risk for a while, but it shouldn't happen as long as she's careful to restrict her normal range of movement until she's healed enough that the stitches and sutures are ready to come out. At that time, there will be a regimen of stretching exercises for her to follow to help her regain as much range of movement as possible. I highly recommend making use of the Ponyville Day Spa. Lotus Blossom and Aloe are accredited physical therapists as well as beauticians and should be able to help keep the visible signs of scaring to a minimum."

"Oh dear…" Rarity's face took on a pale greenish hue as she gazed on the ruin that had lain hidden beneath the bandages. Applejack and Fluttershy, both used to taking care of injured animals, only showed minimal distress.

"Old bandages should not be reused," Nurse Redheart stated as she carefully disposed to the ribbons of yellow and brown stained material in the appropriate bin. "Always change her bandages in a clean environment if possible, and always, _always_ apply fresh, clean bandages. _Never_ reuse the old ones. This is to help keep the risk of infection to a minimum." The three fillies nodded.

"How extraordinary!" Doctor Stable exclaimed, drawing everypony's attention. "She's much further along in her healing already than I would have thought possible! Some of the most minor wounds have disappeared already - I can only find where they were by the stitches we closed them with! And the other wounds look like they've been healing for days or even weeks already instead of merely hours!"

"That's good, raht?"

"Good? I dare say yes indeed," the doctor declared. "Almost impossibly so. It's almost as if… yes… yes… That is almost certainly it! It is most probable that Wild Pony's magic has inverted itself somehow! This is extremely rare, but not unheard of. However, it does mean we will be strapping her to her bed except during in hospital therapy until she is ready to be released."

"But why?" Fluttershy asked.

"Because, with the rate her metabolism is forcing itself to heal her body, any other pain killer than what we had her on will burn right out of her system far too soon to be any use at all. On the other hand, at this rate, she should be past the need of it by late tomorrow morning, dinnertime at the latest, and any scarring should be very minor indeed."

The rest of the process went by very quickly and efficiently, with each new section of Wild Pony's body uncovered revealing similar signs of rapid healing.

"There, all finished, and looking much, much better than anticipated! Now, as her potential hosts and caregivers, would any of you be willing to stay here with her for a while? While the medicine we're using right now to kill the pain is safe enough for her, we are going to have to strap her down while she is under its effects. Unfortunately, as I said before, anything else we could use would also be less effective as a pain killer because she would burn it out of her system too quickly. Your main job would be to comfort her and assure her that the restraints are for her own good, not to keep her prisoner or anything. So, please assure her that the restraints will be off during therapy, and off for good once she's weaned off of the medicine and clear headed."

"I… I'll stay here. And keep her company, I mean. I think she needs… I mean, I think she would want me to…"

"Y' know… Ah reckon you're raht," Applejack nodded at Fluttershy. "Listen, Ah need to check in with Granny Smith an' Apple Bloom, an' let 'em know Ahm alraht, just in case Big Mac hasn't had a chance to get home himself yet. Then Ah have t' get caught up on takin' care of th' animals 'n' all. Ah'll try an' be back later with a care package, but it'll be a while. Maht even have t' be tomorrow."

"I can stay with them for a bit," Rarity assured Applejack.

And, with that, Applejack nodded, then followed the medical staff out the door.

O O O

Cloud Eastwind checked to see if the report he had prepared was secure in the satchel he had procured from the town hall. No sense in having taken the opportunity to get it done while resting up before the flight back to Canterlot only to risk losing it during the trip.

The guard Pegasus had talked to the Ponyville Weather Team, the medical staff, and even went out of the way to talk with some of the more notable witnesses, so he was pretty sure he had a fairly comprehensive report about what was turning out to be a bigger incident than he had originally thought.

Whoever the strange new Earth Pony, Wild Pony, was, she sounded like she had come straight out of the distant Age of Legends. And given that she had been found as a statue in the Everfree Forest, she may well have been originally born in that bygone era. Her name didn't seem at all familiar, but then again, from what Eastwood heard from the locals, Wild Pony seemed to be a young adult, so she might have disappeared before getting her chance to make a lasting impression on history.

This investigation was getting past his pay grade, so now it was time to turn in his initial findings and pass it up the chain. He could only hope that things turned out well for the Ponyville Weather Team captain, Rainbow Dash.

O O O

The door opened, and a gurney was rolled in by a pair of orderlies. On it lay a barely conscious Rainbow Dash.

"Oh my goodness! What happened?" Fluttershy asked quietly as the injured Pegasus was helped into the other bed.

"Heh… I'm alright. Mostly," Rainbow Dash tried to wave off her friend's concerns. "Got a bit dinged up when I got back from Canterlot. Nothing too serious. Just some bumps and bruises…"

"Cracked ribs, mild concussion, multiple fractures and dislocated joints in your right wing…" Nurse Redheart read off the chart, used to Rainbow Dash's antics by now. "What in Celestia's name did you do _this_ time?"

"Nothing much," Rainbow Dash replied, the pride in her voice belying her modestly. "Only ran into the biggest Cloud Crash Cushion _ever_ at just under the speed of sound is all. Didn't exactly have time to slow down after doing that Sonic Rainboom on the way back from Canterlot."

"So you're the reason we got the antivenin order from Canterlot Central so fast," Nurse Redheart commented. "You saved her life, you know."

"Good."

"Now you should know the drill already," the nurse addressed the bedridden Pegasus sternly. "You're grounded until your injuries are cleared up. _All_ of your injuries! No flying until a doctor clears you this time!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Rainbow Dash waved a fore hoof dismissively. "I gotcha. No flying until I'm all better." Putting on her 'cool-face', she looked out the window and muttered quietly to herself as the nurse left the room, "Not like I'm going to have much of a reason to fly after what I did today anyway…"

Turning her head back, the Pegasus sniffed and tried to keep tears from forming in her eyes as she looked at the scarlet maned mare resting peacefully. "Totally worth it."

Fluttershy came over to see what was upsetting her friend. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, Fluttershy…" the blue Pegasus sniffed again, failing to hold back her tears this time. "My dream is _over!_" Wrapping her arms around Fluttershy tightly, she bawled openly, "I'm _never_ going to be a Wonderbolt!"

Fluttershy hugged her friend back and comforted Rainbow Dash as she told her story. Rarity, after a moment's thought, came over and sat on the other side of the friend of her friend, and hugged her as well. They continued holding Rainbow Dash as the heartbroken mare cried herself to sleep…

**END CHAPTER THREE…**

O O O

Okay, hadn't meant to spend this much time focusing on the hospital events, but the story just kept writing itself.

Looks like poor Ranma's luck is still kicking her in the teeth, what with the Neko-Ken remaining sort of active and playing with things in her head that it probably shouldn't.

And I'm pretty sure that Doctor Stable is mistaken. That's Ranma's regular healing rate. She's heal even faster if she were both conscious and coherent!

Oh well…

Rainbow Dash seems to be catching some of the bad luck flak too, but perhaps things are not as bad as she believes…

O O O

And just to clear up some apparent confusion, I didn't move the time frame of the story at all - the main events starting with the return of Nightmare Moon have yet to happen, and Ranma will very likely be along for the ride for at least season one, possibly season two, and maybe even later seasons as well.

Will Ranma get her human forms back? Yes. Eventually.

Will what brought Ranma to Equestria be explained? Also yes, and also eventually.


	5. The Pony Whisperer

_**A Wild Pony in Equestria**_

A Ranma ½ - My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic crossover fanfict by Tangent

**Pre-reading and editing assistance by:**

7Winds

**Post-Reading and editing assistance by:**

Vandenbz

And Pesterfield.

**DISCLAIMER:** 'Ranma ½' and all characters therein belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogagukan, Kitty and Viz Video. 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic' and all characters therein belong to Hasbro. This fanfict has been produced for my own enjoyment and to pass on without profit. Other characters that come into play in this fanfict may or may not be pulled from other sources (including other fanficts, RPGs, manga, anime, literature, or possibly even *GASP* American comic books!).

**A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR:** I consider Cadence to represent a stand alone Element (Love), related to but separate from the Elements of Harmony. If anything, the main set represents the Elements of Friendship, with Friendship being Magic as the crown piece of the set. From what I've seen in Equestria, if Friendship is Magic, then Love is Power, and thus the crowning piece of a potential set of its own (Fidelity, Devotion, Passion, Compassion, and Acceptance as possible set pieces). Now all we need to figure out what in Equestria represents Wisdom, and we'll only be an elf kingdom away from having the full Hyrulian Tri-Force set! Okay, okay, all silliness aside, Love stands alone as a separate but equal Element in Equestria.

Why bring this up here, this early in this particular story?

Well, because the general consensus when I asked if I should have Ranma represent a new Element in the Friendship set seems to be for leaving the Elements of Harmony as they are. At least as far as this story is concerned. The option of Ranma being the start of a separate Element set might still be on the board though. Or even just Ranma representing a single, isolated Element like Cadence does (Love, in her case). So… Adaptability? Resourcefulness? Valor? Shoe?

O O O

**CHAPTER FOUR: **_**The Pony Whisperer**_

Wild Pony… No, that was just how her name translated in the local tongue. _Ranma…_ Her name was _Ranma._ Or was it Ranko? No, Ranma was good enough. Or maybe just use the translation? After all, she had already sort of introduced herself by that version of her name already. What had she been thinking about anyway?

Oh. Yeah…

Wild Pony gradually became hazily aware of her own consciousness once again. Unfortunately, the happy-happy juice was still playing merry havoc with her mind, which wasn't helping with whatever it was the Neko-Ken had done when it… No, stop, that way lies madness.

And the kitty, but mostly madness.

Okay, not so much the madness as the kitty, but still better to leave the Neko-Ken alone and hope that it'll finally settle down and stop playing with random bits of whatever as if it where all yarn and string.

Human. Her memories told her that she had been human before she had been a pony, regardless of what her body was currently telling her. She had been male as well. Most of the time, anyway. Jusenkyo had changed that, giving him a part-time gender change any time he came into contact with cold water.

And now, between the Neko-Ken not going back to wherever it usually went when it was no longer needed, and the trippy medication, she was now apparently having difficulties keeping track of _what_ she actually was, if not exactly _who_. After all, boy, girl, or pony, they were _all_ Ranma in the end, just under different labels.

It was bad enough that her earlier drug induced ramblings probably had them thinking she was a little crazy. Kitty living in her head indeed…

_Mew!_

Stop that! Imaginary kitty is not real! The Neko-Ken can't be active while Ranma was Ranma! Otherwise she'd _never_ be able to get away!

_Meow!_

_Little Mommy! Little Mommy! Make the kitty go away!_

What. The. _**HELL?**_ Since _when_ was there a little filly in her head? At least the cat, as wrong as that was, made some sort of _sense_ given the way the Neko-Ken had broken her mind…

_Mew! Mew! Mew!_

_Waaaaaaah! Little Mommy! The kitty is chasing meeeeeeee!_

Oh _Hell _no!

Responding to protective instincts she was only vaguely aware that she even had, Ranma's mental self-image shifted form and gender, towering over the other two mental aspects as they skidded to a halt before his rage. Without thought, Ranma picked up the filly in his arms and glared at the representation of the Neko-Ken.

**LEAVE. HER. ALONE!**

The Neko-Ken, ever before assured of his dominance due to his role in defending the Other, stared back and wondered just when the balance of power had shifted. Then his baleful eyes narrowed and it leapt at the Other, claws wide. It was time to remind the Other why he _needed_ a defender!

The core self fragmented slightly at the Neko-Ken's first strike, forming a triple overlapping self image of Ranma, Ranko, and Wild Pony who curled their bodies as best as they could around Little Filly, whose shrieks of terror became their own as the massive walls of The Pit shot up around them, and the eyes of hundreds of evil, nasty kitties appeared in the darkness of their despair…

The War for Dominance had only just begun, and the Neko-Ken fully intended to come out on top of the heap!

O O O

Fluttershy watched as Wild Pony started to fidget and whimper in her sleep, moving to stroke her mane and attempt to calm her down from what looked like the onset of a particularly nasty nightmare. The sturdy metal side-rails of the hospital bed audibly groaned, testimony to the strength the injured pony could bring to bear even in her sleep.

Fluttershy hesitated as the metal safety rails bent visibly, if ever so slightly, under the strain Wild Pony was exerting.

"No, Daddy! I don' wanna go in The Pit again! The kitties are mean! It hurts, Daddy! The biting, the scratching _hurts!_ I wanna get out! Why did you throw me in The Pit, Daddy?"

That… That wasn't the voice of the brave young mare who had collapsed in front of Fluttershy after driving the manticore away. That wasn't even the rambling babbling voice of the disoriented filly who had met them in the hall.

"Daddy! Mommy! Save me! It hurts! They're hurting me! Why won't you save me, Daddy? Why do you keep throwing me into The Pit? Mommy! Mommy! Where are you! Don't you love me? No… no, Mommy, I didn't mean it! Not the sword, Mommy! MOMMY!"

This was the voice of a terrified little filly, barely more than a foal, scared, alone, and horrifically betrayed by those who should have protected her above all else!

Fluttershy ignored the frantic, violent thrashing as she cradled Wild Pony's head in her forelegs and gently stroked her mane. She ignored the loud snapping of bolts and screeching metal as one of the safety rails tore partially loose, bending like taffy even as she gathered Wild Pony more fully into her embrace and began to rock gently back and forth, singing into the side of her tear streaked face. The beginnings of an aura seemed to spark between the two, and then expanded into a golden-pink corona outlining the pair.

Rarity, who had only just began to gather her magic to try to keep Fluttershy safe, and Rainbow Dash, who was half out of her own bed, watched in shock, then awe, as the berserk bundle of bandages calmed down in Fluttershy's embrace, sobbing in relief into the gentle Pegasus's shoulder. The straps on her forelimbs finally snapped free, permitting the crying filly to hug her savior back.

The gold and pink corona continued to outline the two as the quiet sobs relaxed into gentle snores, and then the glow was gone as if it had never been.

It had been awe inspiring, terrifying, and yet strikingly poignant to witness, and by the time the orderlies arrived, Wild Pony was once again sleeping as peacefully as if the nightmare had never happened in the first place.

Rainbow Dash looked on incredulously as her shy, timid, foalhood friend continued to gently stroke the formerly mad mare in her forelimbs. "Uh… What the _buck_ just happened?"

O O O

The glow, whatever it had been, receded from Ranma's consciousness.

Ranma's core selves relaxed. The Neko-Ken finally having retreated back to wherever it was currently hiding in their shattered psyche. The little filly pranced joyfully around the three overlapping perceptions of self that had tried their best to protect the innocence she represented.

Little Mommy had come!

Little Mommy had saved her from The Pit!

Little Mommy had done what her real mother never had…

The first battle in the War for Dominance was over as Ranma/Ranko/Wild Pony felt something profound. Something that brought unfettered Joy to Little Filly.

They felt the pure, _unconditional_ Love of Little Mommy…

O O O

"That was a very brave, and yet incredibly dangerous thing you did," Doctor Stable praised and admonished Fluttershy at the same time. "It is very fortunate that you were able to calm her down, but at the same time, she could have easily hurt, or even killed you without even meaning to."

"She needed me," Fluttershy stated simply and quietly. "I could not do anything less."

The doctor sighed as he shook his head. "As much as I want to disagree with you, I dare say that you could not have done otherwise. Unfortunately, we're going to have to cut the feed of her pain medication immediately. This last reaction was far too extreme to be anything resembling safe. And we are going to have to strap her down more securely until the rest of the medication has burned out of her system."

"She'll be fine as long as I'm holding her," Fluttershy stated in quiet confidence.

"Be that as it may, you can't be expected to hold her for the entire time it will take for the pain killer to completely wear off."

"No."

"Good. Now I'm sure that once the medi- Wait, _what?_"

"Wild Pony does not need to be strapped down like some mad mare. All she needs is some simple love and kindness."

"If I may point out exhibit A, the bed?" the flustered doctor argued, waving a hoof at the mangled safety rails and twisted bed frame.

"Which I am sure would not have happened if she had not been strapped to it in the first place."

"She's got a point, Doc," Rainbow Dash remarked, flippantly.

"But as she is, she's a danger to-" the doctor sputtered to silence as Fluttershy simply gave him The Stare. "Um… ah… That is to say…"

"At some point in this mare's past," Fluttershy began in a quiet yet stern tone, "she was betrayed _horrifically_ by the very ponies she should have been able to trust most of all. Something that might have turned _anypony_ into a monster, and yet she has _not_ become one herself. She needs to be treated with dignity, kindness, and respect, _not_ tied down with straps and buckles!"

"Very well," Doctor Stable gave in in a resigned tone. "I'll have the orderlies bring in a new bed, but they won't strap her down. I trust you'll remain here to watch over her?"

"Of course."

And with that, Doctor Stable and the orderlies left the room, and Nurse Redheart checked Wild Pony's bandages and I.V. tubes, removing the connecting painkiller feed in the process.

O O O

Applejack returned from checking in with her family. Big Mac had sent her back so she could be with Fluttershy and Rarity as they watched over Wild Pony, assuring her that he'd take care of her chores for the day, and maybe for tomorrow as well.

"Ah stopped by yer cottage an' picked up Angel Bunny on mah way back t' Sweet Apple Acres, Fluttershy, since y' maht be stayin' here an' watchin' over Wild Pony for the night 'n' all."

"Did you check on Mr. and Mrs. Mouse while you were there?"

"No, Fluttershy, Ah did no such thing. Ah keep telling' y' that mice indoors are _pests_ to most folk. Yer the _only_ pony I know who managed to convince _any_ not to raid food stores and leave their droppin's everywhere."

"They do that?" Rainbow Dash asked, curiously. Living in a cloud as she did, the only household pest she had to deal with was the occasional bird trying to fly through it.

"Oh, yes! And they chew things constantly! I am ever so grateful to Opalescence for…" Rarity glanced at Fluttershy and quickly rephrased what she was about to say, "keeping them out of The Carousel Boutique for me, or my stock would run the risk of being ruined!"

"Woah… sounds nasty!"

"The Mouse family is very clean, tidy, and well behaved!"

"Ah'm sure they are," Applejack reluctantly conceded. "Fer _you_, anyhow. Ah ain't seen _any_ mouse _anywhere_ behave for _anypony_ else, no matter _how_ nice a pony they are. That knack y' have with animals is beyond anythin' Ah have _ever_ seen, and as a farm pony, Ah've seen plenty of ponies with some talent fer handlin' animals. You plum blow 'em all clear outta th' water, Sugarcube. Whatever y' got, it's a raht true Gift."

Fluttershy blushed, not unhappily, but a little embarrassed by the praise never the less.

Seeing her friend's discomfort at being the center of attention, Applejack decided to change the topic. "Hay, Rainbow. What 'r' _you_ in fer?"

O O O

Wild Pony murmured in discomfort, and stirred for a moment.

Fortunately, this time the injured pony merely seemed to be shifting peacefully in her sleep rather than trying to get away from any sort of unfathomable terrors. Fluttershy started stroking Wild Pony's crimson mane anyway. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had both gone over what they saw of the fight with the manticore with her and Rarity. The weather captain elaborating mainly on the epic violence of the no blows barred battle, while the farm pony had focused on… other bits.

_She came and found me._

_She brought me home and talked to me,_

_So I could help her dream…_

Wild Pony had been _aware_ all this time. Aware of being found. Aware of being taken out of the Everfree Forest and set up in Fluttershy's yard. Aware of all of those intimate conversations she had had when Fluttershy was merely pretending that she wasn't actually a statue…

_Then you came out of the woods,_

_And then she caught your sight,_

_Ain't got no sword, ain't got no knife,_

_Don't you start no fight…_

Aware, as Fluttershy had _not_ been, of the impending danger of the manticore coming out of the forest. And willing to fight that manticore in order to defend her, despite being unarmed!

Fluttershy had no illusions about what would most likely would have happened if Wild Pony had not managed to drive off the manticore. As harsh as this winter had been, the only reason it would have left the forest would have been if the beast's usual prey had become too scarce or too hard to find to support it.

She would _not_ have been able to talk her way out of being eaten, just as she had been unable to convince the smaller predators to leave her chickens alone this winter. It would have been too hungry to listen to her.

And somehow, as impossible as it seemed, Wild Pony had broken free of her stone prison _specifically_ to defend Fluttershy from the starving manticore.

Wild Pony who, if her earlier medication induced ramblings and nightmares were any indication, was deathly afraid of even the smallest of kitties, had fought the king of the big cats one on one, without any weapon at all, to defend _her!_

Fluttershy didn't quite know what to think of it all, other than to marvel at the power of a friendship she had made with a mare whom she had unjustly assumed to have been a simple stone ornament…

O O O

Groaning slightly, Wild Pony woke up feeling dull, throbbing aches all over her body. She could tell from how much easier it was to think that at some point the doctors must have decided to stop feeding happy-juice into her system. Good, pretty soon she'd be able to concentrate on _really_ speeding up her healing processes now.

Good _Gods,_ what a nightmare though! She hadn't experienced any so extreme since she was a little filly, right after the Neko… Ken…

Stop. Don't think about it. Ignore the problem, and maybe it will _go away!_

Granted, that bit of advice never seemed to work ever since she and Pop settled down in Nerima. Instead, all the problems that had supposedly went away eventually caught up with them again. Pop's more than her own, but all too many of _his_ troubles ended up turning into _hers_ somehow regardless. Who came up with that bit of wisdom anyway?

Oh yeah…

Shit-Daddy had. It was pretty much his standard operating procedure, interchangeable with his other two usual options of 'don't bother thinking a plan all the way through,' and 'pass the buck.' None of which turned out to be long term solutions after they had settled down long enough for their troubles to find them again. And just how long had she been following that doctrine herself anyway? Besides the 'pass the buck' bit anyway, since Pops had never let _her_ do that one…

Wait… Why was Pop a _panda_? His name was Dark Pony, wasn't it? No… That was the translation again, it was actually _Genma_… and he was _human_, and only _turned into_ a panda.

And _she_ was actually _Ranma_, and not really a pony at all!

Well, except for the minor detail of her current situation, which pretty much meant that she _was_, in fact, a pony. And female, but she pretty sure she had already convinced herself that if she had to be a pony, she'd prefer to be a mare than risk being gelded by some idiot who wanted to tame her.

Hmm… Somepony was sitting on her bed, stroking her mane…

Felt… nice, actually. Like she was being cared for. How long had it been? Sadly, she still had only the vaguest recollections of her life prior to the Neko-Ken. Had Mom ever been like that at all?

Her heart wanted the answer to be 'yes, _of course_ your mother cared for you, you silly filly,' and part of her did still believe that it _had_ to be true, even if she couldn't remember it. At least back then, before the stupid 'Man among Men' honor pledge Shit-Daddy had come up with as an excuse to separate them so that Mom would stop coddling her and interfering with her training.

_Dammit_, why was she having trouble remembering that her past self was male? And human at that? _Why_ were her memories so screwed up that she kept inserting herself as a _girl_ or a _pony_ where a boy should be?

Oh, yeah, the Neko-Ken again. The stupid imaginary kitty in her head had played merry havoc with her head since refusing to go back into whatever dark recesses of her psyche it _usually_ hid in when it wasn't active. And what little she recalled of her most recent nightmare implied that it was now taking to actively attacking her itself for whatever reason. And had somehow caused her core self to shatter just a bit more.

Well, wasn't _that_ just going to make going to sleep all kinds of awkward…

Feeling a bit disgruntled, and perhaps becoming a little obstinate because of it, her core personas gathered themselves and tried to pull their self image into a more coherent whole. Wild Child still felt like she was overlapping herself… No no _**no**_! War Horse was a guy, not… wait, what?

**NO!**

No new names! Ranma was _RANMA!_ Wild Pony was how her name translated here, and was how she had introduced herself to the locals, so it could stay. The kitty was Neko-Ken because it _wasn't_ Ranma. And…

Alright, Little Filly could keep her name too. Taking that away just felt cruel and evil…

Great…

Get a shot at a whole new life and a chance to earn a better afterlife, and _now_ is when the mental breakdown begins?

Somebody call Rod Sterling, one of the plots to The Twilight Zone got loose…

Okay, enough introspection.

Time to _wake __**up!**_

O O O

Sitting up, _Ranma_ casually set Little Mother… er… Fluttershy aside, stretched, and scratched the back of her head with a hoof as she blinked blearily and smacked her lips. "Bleh… thirsty," she stated in a hoarse whisper.

Rainbow Dash watched from the other bed as Fluttershy quickly got off of the bed and poured a glass of ice water for the heavily bandaged Earth Pony from the pitcher on the nightstand next to her bed. "Here you go. Just sips now… you don't want to make yourself sick…"

"I dunno… already being in a hospital would make it very convenient…" the bedridden pony quipped as she accepted the glass and raised it to her lips. Still, she did listen, and only took small sips for now.

"True, but don't you think it would be defeating the purpose of a facility intended to help you get better?" Rarity chided as Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash giggled.

"Oh, hey, you _are_ here," Wild turned her head to look at the white unicorn. "Argh… Please tell me I didn't actually start wandering about while singing earlier…"

"Sorry, but as much as I'd love to assuage your psyche, we did find you in the hall, singing."

"Then the other stuff I remember probably happened as well… Dammit. Sorry about that," the bedridden pony grumbled, then apologized.

"It's alright," Fluttershy murmured as she traced circles on the floor with a fore hoof. "I didn't mind…"

"Oh, don't worry," Rarity assured the recovering filly. "Nothing too terrible happened. You just got up and had a little sing while you were medicated."

"I wasn't here for _that_," the pony in the other bed added. "About an hour and forever after I was rolled in here and A.J. got back, you had this really awesome nightmare where you were thrashing about so much you _totally_ wrecked your hospital bed! You were crying and screaming and everything, and bending the safety rails like they were nothing! But good ol' Fluttershy, she just trotted right up to you like a champ, gave you a hug and a lullaby, and you calmed down like nothing ever happened!"

About ten seconds later, Rainbow Dash's smile faltered as she realized that everypony else in the room was staring at her, aghast. "Well, _I_ thought it was awesome…" she meekly tried to defend her point of view even as she felt ashamed by her lack of tact.

"So…" a somewhat more then merely mortified Wild Pony began after several awkward minutes had passed, "did I happen to say anything… specific… while I was 'screaming, crying' and making origami out of my bed frame?"

The other ponies hesitated for a moment, then Applejack huffed and approached Wild Pony. "Ah shoot. Y' may not want to hear some o' this, but y' asked plain an' fair. 'Sides, it wouldn't be raht if'n we didn't tell y' what we overheard. Although for your sake, Ah pray t' Celestia that none of it is true…"

"Okay, now I'm worried, but please tell me. I have to know…"

"Yeah… Ah reckon y' do at that," the farm pony nodded, agreeing in principle but still uncomfortable with the subject matter. "Keep in mind that yer voice had gone all… tiny-lahk, lahk a little filly, barely older than a foal, so Ah reckon that whatever was knawin' at yer dreams happened… or supposedly happened… way back when you were little…"

"Yes. Yes it did," Wild Pony sighed. "Please continue. I _need_ to know what you know."

"Well… Y' were cryin an' hollerin' about yer poppa tossin y' into a pit full o' cats. Over an' over again. And then y' were callin' out fer yer momma, askin' why she didn't save you… why she didn't… _love_… you. An' then she apparently attacked you with a sword. Raht 'bout then was when Fluttershy stepped in y' settled down raht calm an' peaceful-lahk."

"Wild Pony, dear, Please tell us none of that was true," Rarity pleaded. "The thought of anypony's parents being that… cruel…"

Wild sighed as Little Mother… (_Fluttershy_, dammit! Little Mother's _name_ is _Fluttershy!_)… sat on the bed next to her again, and began stroking her mane comfortingly.

"It's alright if you don't want to talk about it," Little (_**FLUTTERSHY!**_) assured the embarrassed pony in a quiet and calm tone. "We understand…"

"No, no, it's not that… Well it sorta _is_… but not really…"

"Wild, dear, you're being about as clear as mud."

"Yeah, really thick mud."

"Look, Pops isn't… evil or nothing. He's just… really really short sighted sometimes, and doesn't think things all the way through. Or read things all the way through either. And Mom didn't know at the time, as it happened about a year or so after Pop took me away on a training trip for about ten years or so…"

"A ten year _training_ trip? Good Heavens! Whatever for?"

"Martial Arts," Wild answered in an off-hoofed manner, as if it were obvious, earning some raised eyebrows from the others. Especially Doctor Stable and Nurse Redheart, who had just come in, but had decided to wait quietly and listen for a bit. "Pop didn't want Mom to coddle me, and apparently she was reluctant to let him take me away until he made the most _stupid_ promise in the history of _ever_, and… well, that's another long and awkward story. I'd rather not get into that bit right now."

Taking a deep breath, Wild regathered her thoughts and started over.

"Point is, about a year or so into the training trip, Pop got his hooves on a training manual for an Ultimate Technique called the Neko-Ken."

"The Neko-what, now?" Applejack tilted her head, not recognizing the foreign words. None of the others were much better off, from their expressions.

"You'd probably call it the Cat-Hoof. It's the closest translation, anyway. The goal of the technique is to impart cat-like combat abilities, reflexes, and instincts through direct exposure to the source…" Wild Pony trailed off, actually beginning to remember the pit consciously for the first time in what felt like forever. She usually repressed the memory, and for very good reasons.

"That, doesn't sound very plausible as a training method," Doctor Stable pointed out dubiously. "It sounds incredibly dangerous and irresponsible, for one thing."

"Yeah, that's my Pop for you. To him, labeling a training technique as being _forbidden_ just meant that it had to be exceptionally powerful and effective. Never mind any warnings, not that he read that far into the manual anyway..."

"Warnings?" Rarity prompted when it looked like Wild's attention was drifting off again.

"Turns out the Neko-Ken was forbidden as a technique for more than just the usual reasons Ultimate Techniques ended up being banned. Most are just incredibly dangerous to learn, but you usually have to be at least an advanced student or even a master before you can even attempt to do so, meaning only the most capable Martial Artists ever get a chance to study them and decide if the risk is worth the reward. The Neko-Ken is not like that at all."

"I thought so," Doctor Stable agreed. "From what you said earlier, the student would have to be young enough to actually still be able to learn by… imprinting… Oh, sweet Celestia! Your father made you watch…"

"Not… watch…" Wild Pony interrupted in a strained voice, her body trembling like a leaf in the wind.

"There there…" Fluttershy assured Wild gently. "It's all in the past. There aren't any kitties here to hurt you."

This seemed to work, as the heavily bandaged pony seemed to calm down. "Heh… Thanks." Taking a deep breath, Wild steadied herself, her overlapping self-images drawing themselves into a more or less cohesive whole binding itself together with stubborn tenacity and obstinance. Deciding to assert her image as a tough pony, she sat on the edge of her bed and started unwinding the bandages on her torso. "Okay, enough of that. Time to see what the damage is…"

"Now hold on, Sally, Ah think yer gettin' a maht ahead of yerself there."

"Um… I think you should leave your bandages alone…"

"Nah, I'll be fine."

"No… Really… it's for your own good…"

"Yeah… No. Really, I'll be okay."

"…But you could get infected…"

"And I'm telling you, I'll be okay."

"You will stop _right now_, young lady!"

O O O

Ranma dropped the end of the bandage she had been unwinding from her torso and scooted back in her bed away from those _EYES_…

The protective _EYES_ of a caring mother disciplining a disobedient filly that had been caught doing something recklessly dangerous.

Those horrible, terrifying, beautiful _EYES_ that glared in _concerned disapproval_ at her.

Ranma's splintered core self huddled next to the Neko-Ken as the little filly pranced joyfully around the pair in the knowledge that Little Mommy was looking out for her.

The War for Dominance had reached a temporary ceasefire on account of Little Mommy…

O O O

Fluttershy gently took up the end of the bandage that Wild Pony had dropped and carefully continued unwinding it from the injured pony's torso. "There there, I'm sure you _think_ you may be fine, but you were terribly injured when you defended me from that manticore. You have a lot of cuts and gashes that could get infected if they are improperly exposed before they are healed. Rarity, if you could get a replacement bandage roll from the cupboard?"

"Of course."

The next morning, the medical staff of Ponyville General Hospital were very much relieved to sign Wild Pony out under Fluttershy's care. They were pretty sure that some time in a calm, peaceful, caring environment would do the filly a world of good.

And if that time just happened to be spent as far from the hospital as it was feasible to get while still technically remaining in Ponyville? Well, that was just a happy coincidence…

**END CHAPTER FOUR…**

O O O

FINALLY! The hospital stay is over and done with!

Next chapter we will see Wild Pony settling in with Fluttershy and adapting to life in Ponyville.

And we may just get a glimpse at how the Poison Joke interpreted Ranma's curse…

**Pesterfield, Vandenbz: **Guys, your diligent post-reading has been greatly appreciated, And I do hope you continue trying to spot the errors that creep in whenever I post a chapter, even if I acquired 7Winds as a pre-reader.

**Dymian:** The first hospital song in the previous chapter was modified from Pink Floyd's 'Comfortably Numb.' The self-interrupted one Ranma started singing later was a modified 'Magical Mystery Tour' by the Beatles. And the one in the chapter before then was a modified 'T.N.T.' by AC/DC.


End file.
